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Title: A History of Oregon, 1792-1849 - Drawn From Personal Observation and Authentic Information
Author: Gray, William Henry
Language: English
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[Illustration: ASTORIA IN 1811.]
A HISTORY
OF
OREGON,
1792-1849,
DRAWN FROM PERSONAL OBSERVATION AND AUTHENTIC INFORMATION.
BY
W. H. GRAY,
OF
ASTORIA.
PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR FOR SUBSCRIBERS.
PORTLAND, OREGON: HARRIS & HOLMAN.
SAN FRANCISCO: H. H. BANCROFT & CO.
NEW YORK: THE AMERICAN NEWS COMPANY.
1870.
CORRECTIONS:
FIRST LETTER.
4th page, 2nd line from bottom, after the word horror, read _at_.
6th page, 2nd line from bottom, " quote.
7th page, end of paragraph, ".
23rd page, in place of 283, page 273.
24th page, after zealous priest of, read _the_.
26th page, 5th line, for missionaries, read _missions_.
SECOND LETTER.
5th page, first word, for abrogate, read _arrogate_.
8th page, in this letter, read in _his_ letter.
23rd page, for unmbers, read _numbers_.
29th page, 1st paragraph, for dispersing, read _dispensing_.
30th page, 2nd paragraph, for barely, read _basely_ betrayed.
32nd page, for mith, read _with_ many thanks.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, by
W. H. GRAY,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the
District of Oregon.
INTRODUCTORY.
The reader will observe that when we commenced furnishing the historical
articles for the _Marine Gazette_, we did not know that they would be of
sufficient interest to justify arranging them in book form; but few
articles had been given, however, before there was a call for back
numbers of the paper, which were not on hand. It was then decided to
continue the articles, giving an opportunity to correct errors in
statement of historical facts, and collect such as were printed, with
all just criticisms, review the whole, and complete the manuscript for
publication.
As will be seen, we have endeavored to narrate events in plain language,
and as nearly in the order of occurrence as possible.
We make no claim to literary merit or attractive style; the facts we
have collected, the proofs we are able to give of the policy and
practices of one of the most gigantic frauds ever continued for a series
of years by one professedly civilized and Christian nation upon another,
in chartering and continuing to license a monster monopoly; and the
manner in which they have sought for a series of years to prevent
American trade and settlement of the western portion of our country, is
contained in the following pages. We can only give the principal events,
which in the future may be better arranged in an interesting and
authentic history, which we must leave for others to write. The reader
will find in the following pages:--
I. The American history of the Hudson's Bay and Puget Sound Agricultural
companies.
II. The causes of failure of the Protestant missions, the causes of
Indian wars, and the causes that must tend to the utter destruction of
the Indian race on the American continent.
III. The adverse influences that the early settlers had to contend with
in coming to and settling in the country, fully explained.
IV. A concise history of the early settlement of the country, a short
sketch of many of the public men in it, their public character and
proceedings, and the organization of the provisional government.
V. The mining and agricultural interests of the country.
There are two grounds upon which every fact is based:--
1. Personal knowledge, observation, and participation in what is stated
for one-third of a century.
2. The written and printed statements of others, so compared that
conclusions are intended to be without a possibility of truthful
contradiction; thus making this a standard history of the country for
the time included within the period from its discovery by Captain Robert
Gray to 1849.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
First discovery of the river.--Natives friendly.--British
ship.--Brig _Jennet_.--Snow _Sea Otter_.--The _Globe_.--
_Alert._--_Guatimozin._--_Atahualpa._--Lewis and Clarke.--
Vancouver.--Hamilton.--Derby.--_Pearl._--_Albatross._--First
house built in 1810.--Astor's settlement.--The _Tonquin._--
Astor's Company betrayed to the Northwest Company.
Page 13
CHAPTER II.
The country restored.--The order.--Description of Astoria.--
Different parties.--Northwest Fur Company.--Astor's
plan.--Conflict of the two British fur companies.--The
treaties.--The Selkirk settlement.--Its object.--The company
asserts chartered rights as soon as united.
Page 20
CHAPTER III.
English Hudson's Bay effort to secure Oregon.--British claim
to Oregon.--Dr. McLaughlin's relation to the company.--
Treatment of Red River settlers.--A mistake.--Sir Edward
Belcher.--Duplicity of the Hudson's Bay Company.--A noble
man.--An Englishman's opinion of the Hudson's Bay
Company.--Sir James Douglas's testimony.--J. Ross
Browne.--Duty of an historian.--Cause and effect.
Page 27
CHAPTER IV.
Care of Great Britain for her fur companies.--Columbia Fur
Company.--Astor's second fur company.--Major Pilcher's fur
company.--Loss of the ship _Isabel_.--Captain Bonneville's
expedition.--Cause of his failure.--Captain Wyeth's,
1832.--Indians ask for missionaries in 1833.--Methodist
Mission.--Fort Hall established.--Fort Boise.
Page 36
CHAPTER V.
Extent and power of Hudson's Bay Company.--Number of
forts.--Location.--Policy.--Murder of Mr. Black.--McKay.--
Manner of dealing with Indians.--Commander of fort kills
an Indian.--Necessity of such a course.--Hudson's Bay
Company not responsible for what their servants do.
Page 42
CHAPTER VI.
Murder of John McLaughlin, Jr.--Investigation by Sir George
Simpson and Sir James Douglas.
Page 46
CHAPTER VII.
Treatment of Indians.--Influence of Hudson's Bay
Company.--Rev. Mr. Barnley's statement.--First three
years.--After that.--Treatment of Jesuits.--Of Protestants.--
Of Indians.--Not a spade to commence their new mode of
life.--Mr. Barnley's statement.--Disappointed.--His
mistake.--Hudson's Bay Company disposed to crush their own
missionaries.
Page 55
CHAPTER VIII.
Petition of Red River settlers.--Their requests, from 1 to
14.--Names.--Governor Christie's reply.--Company's
reply.--Extract from minutes.--Resolutions, from 1 to
9.--Enforcing rules.--Land deed.--Its condition.--Remarks.
Page 61
CHAPTER IX.
Puget Sound Agricultural Company.--Its original stock.--A
correspondence.--No law to punish fraud.--A supposed trial of
the case.--Article four of the treaty.--The witnesses.--Who
is to receive the Puget Sound money.--Dr. Tolmie, agent of
the company.--The country hunted up.--Difficult to trace a
fictitious object.--Statement of their claim.--Result of the
investigation.
Page 67
CHAPTER X.
Case of The Hudson's Bay Company v. The United States.--
Examination of Mr. McTavish.--Number of witnesses.--Their
ignorance.--Amount claimed.--Original stock.--Value of land
in Oregon.--Estimate of Hudson's Bay Company's
property.--Remarks of author.
Page 81
CHAPTER XI.
Quotation from Mr. Swan.--His mistake.--General Gibbs'
mistake.--Kamaiyahkan.--Indian agent killed.--J. J. Stevens
misjudged.
Page 92
CHAPTER XII.
Review of Mr. Greenhow's work in connection with the conduct
and policy of the Hudson's Bay Company.--Schools and
missionaries.--Reasons for giving extracts from Mr.
Greenhow's work.--Present necessity for more knowledge about
the company.
Page 96
CHAPTER XIII.
Occupants of the country.--Danger to outsiders.--Description
of missionaries.
Page 106
CHAPTER XIV.
Missionary outfit.--On the way.--No roads.--An English
nobleman.--A wagon taken along.--Health of Mrs.
Spalding.--Meeting mountain men and Indians.--A feast to the
Indians.
Page 113
CHAPTER XV.
Arrival at American rendezvous.--An Indian procession.--
Indian curiosity to see white women.--Captain N. Wyeth.--
McCleod and T. McKay.--Description of mountain men.--Their
opinion of the missionaries.
Page 121
CHAPTER XVI.
Missionaries travel in company with Hudson's Bay Company
party.--The Lawyer's kindness.--Arrival at Fort
Hall.--Description of the country.--The Salmon Indians.--The
Hudson's Bay Company's tariff.
Page 130
CHAPTER XVII.
An explanation.--Instructions of company.--Their
tyranny.--Continuation of journey.--Fording rivers.--Arrival
at Boise.--Dr. Whitman compelled to leave his wagon.
Page 136
CHAPTER XVIII.
Arrival at Fort Wallawalla.--Reception.--The fort in 1836.--
Voyage down the Columbia River.--Portage at Celilo.--At
Dalles.--A storm.--The Flatheads.--Portage at the Cascades.
Page 142
CHAPTER XIX.
Fort Vancouver in 1836.--An extra table.--Conditions on which
cattle were supplied to settlers.--Official papers.--Three
organizations.
Page 150
CHAPTER XX.
Settlers in 1836.--Wallamet Cattle Company.--What good have
the missionaries done?--Rev. J. Lee and party.--The Hudson's
Bay Company recommend the Wallamet--Rev. S. Parker arrives at
Vancouver.
Page 154
CHAPTER XXI.
Arrival of Rev. Mr. Beaver and wife.--His opinion of the
company.--A double-wedding.--Mrs. Spalding and Mrs. Whitman
at Vancouver.--Men explore the country and locate
stations.--Their opinion of the country.--Indian labor.--A
winter trip down Snake River.
Page 162
CHAPTER XXII.
The French and American settlers.--Hudson's Bay Company's
traveling traders.--The Flatheads.--Their manner of
traveling.--Marriage.--Their honesty.--Indian fight and scalp
dance.--Fight with the Sioux.--At Council Bluffs.
Page 169
CHAPTER XXIII.
Re-enforcement to the Methodist Mission.--Re-enforcement to
the mission of the American Board.
Page 175
CHAPTER XXIV.
Arrival of Jesuit missionaries.--Toupin's statement about
Rev. A. B. Smith.--Death of Mrs. Jason Lee.--First
express.--Jesuits at work.--The first printing-press.--The
Catholic tree.
Page 180
CHAPTER XXV.
Independent missionaries arrive.--Their troubles.--Conversion
of Indians at the Dalles.--Their motives.--Emigrants of
1839.--Blubber-Mouth Smith.--Re-enforcement of the Methodist
Mission in 1840.--Father De Smet.--Rev. Harvey Clark and
associates.--Ewing Young.--Names of missionaries and
settlers.
Page 185
CHAPTER XXVI.
1840.--Petition to Congress of United States.--British
subjects amenable to the laws of Canada.--Mr. Douglas as
justice of the peace.--Mr. Leslie as judge.
Page 193
CHAPTER XXVII.
Death of Ewing Young.--First public attempt to organize a
provisional government.--Origin of the provisional
government.--First Oregon schooner.
Page 199
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Lee and Hines explore the Umpqua River.--Mr. Hines tells a
story.--Massacre and plunder of Smith's party by the
Indians.--Sympathy of the Hudson's Bay Company.--Extract from
the San Francisco _Bulletin_.
Page 205
CHAPTER XXIX.
Missionaries leaving.--Hudson's Bay Company's Gold
Exchange.--Population in 1842.--Whitman and Lovejoy start for
the States.--The Red River emigration.--American merchants.--
Settlers not dependent on the Hudson's Bay Company.--Milling
Company.--The Oregon Institute.--Dr. Elijah White.--
Proceedings at a public meeting.--Correspondence with the
War Department.
Page 211
CHAPTER XXX.
Dispatch of Dr. White to the Commissioner of Indian
Affairs.--He praises the Hudson's Bay Company.--His account
of the Indians.--Indian outrages.--Dr. White's expedition to
the Nez Percés.--Indian council.--Speeches.--Electing a
chief.--Laws of the Nez Percés.--Visit to the Cayuses.--
Doings of the missionaries.--Drowning of Mr. Rogers and
family.--George Geere.--Volcanoes.--Petition against
Governor McLaughlin.
Page 218
CHAPTER XXXI.
Letter of H. H. Spalding to Dr. White.--Account of his
mission among the Nez Percés.--Schools.--Cultivation.--
Industrial arts.--Moral character.--Arable land.--Letter
of Commissioner of Indian Affairs to the Secretary of War.
Page 234
CHAPTER XXXII.
Dr. E. White's letter to the Secretary of War.--Excitement
among the Indians.--Visit to Nez Percés, Cayuses, and
Wallawallas.--Destitution and degradation of the Coast
Indians.--Dr. White eulogizes Governor McLaughlin and the
Hudson's Bay Company.--Schools and missions.--Mr. Jess
Applegate.--Dr. White's second letter.--Letters of Peter H.
Hatch and W. H. Wilson.--Seizure of a distillery.--Search for
liquor.--Letter of James D. Saules.--Fight with Indians.--
Death of Cockstock.--Description and character of him.--The
Molallos and Klamaths.--Agreement with the Dalles Indians.--
Presents to Cockstock's widow.--Dr. White's third letter.--
Letter of Rev. G. Hines to Dr. White.--Letter of W. Medill.
Page 241
CHAPTER XXXIII.
First council to organize a provisional government.--Library
founded.--Origin of the Wolf Association.--The Methodist
Mission influence.--Dr. White exhibits his credentials.--First
"wolf meeting."--Proceedings of the second "wolf meeting."--
Officers.--Resolutions.--Bounties to be paid.--Resolution to
appoint a committee of twelve for the civil and military
protection of the settlement.--Names of the members of the
committee.
Page 260
CHAPTER XXXIV.
First meeting of the committee of twelve.--All invited to
participate.--The Rev. J. Lee and Mr. Abernethy ridicule the
organization.--Mr. Lee tells a story.--Letter from Governor
Abernethy.--The main question at issue.--Drowning of
Cornelius Rogers and party.--Conduct of Dr. White.--Methodist
Mission.--Catholic boasts of conversions.
Page 263
CHAPTER XXXV.
Meetings to oppose organization.--Address of the
French-Canadians.--Criticisms on it by the author.--The
Jesuits.--Jesuit oath.--Article from Cincinnati _Beacon_.
Page 273
CHAPTER XXXVI.
The meeting at Champoeg.--Tactics of the Jesuit party.--
Counter-tactics of the Americans.--A division and its
result.--Public record.--Opposition to clergymen as
legislators.--Mr. Hines as an historian.--His errors.--
Importance of Mr. Hines' history.--Difficulty among the
Indians.--Cause of the difficulty.
Page 279
CHAPTER XXXVII.
Whitman's visit to Washington.--A priest's boast.--A taunt,
and Whitman's reply.--Arrival in Washington.--Interview with
Secretary Webster.--With President Tyler.--His return.--
Successful passage of the Rocky Mountains with two hundred
wagons.--His mill burned during his absence.
Page 288
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
Petition of the citizens of Oregon in 1843.--Complaints
against the Hudson's Bay Company.--The Milling Company.--
Kicking the half-bushel.--Land claims of Dr. McLaughlin.--
Names of the signers.--Reasons for not signing.--Notice,
deed, and bond of John McLaughlin.--Claim of Alvin F. Waller.
Page 292
CHAPTER XXXIX.
Extracts from Mr. Hines' history.--Attempt to capture an
Indian horse-thief.--Dr. McLaughlin refuses to sell supplies
to the signers of the petition.--Excitement in the
settlement.--Interview with Dr. McLaughlin at Vancouver.
Page 304
CHAPTER XL.
A combination of facts.--Settlers alive to their danger.--Mr.
Hines' disparagement of the Methodist Mission.--Indians want
pay for being whipped.--Indian honesty.--Mr. Hines' opinion
of the Indians' religion.--Mr. Geiger's advice.--Dr.
McLaughlin's answer to yellow Serpent.--Baptiste Doreo.--Four
conflicting influences.
Page 309
CHAPTER XLI.
Governor Simpson and Dr. Whitman in Washington.--Interviews
with Daniel Webster and President Tyler.--His cold reception
in Boston by the American Board.--Conducts a large emigration
safely across the Rocky Mountains into Oregon.--The "Memorial
Half-Century Volume."--The Oregon mission ignored by the
American Board.--Dr. McLaughlin.--His connection with the
Hudson's Bay Company.--Catholic Cayuses' manner of
praying.--Rev. C. Eells.--Letter from A. L. Lovejoy.--
Description of Whitman's and Lovejoy's winter journey
from Oregon to Bent's Fort on the Arkansas River.
Page 315
CHAPTER XLII.
Assembly of the Nez Percés, Cayuses, and Wallawallas.--Mock
fight.--Council with the Indians.--Speeches by Yellow
Serpent, Tilokaikt, the Prince, and Illutin.--The secret of
the whole difficulty.--John, the Kanaka.--A cow for a
horse.--Killing of a medicine woman.
Page 328
CHAPTER XLIII.
The Legislative Committee of nine.--Hon. Robert Moore,
chairman.--Description of the members.--Minutes of their
proceedings.--Dr. R. Newell, his character.--Two specimens of
his speeches.--The dark clouds.
Page 336
CHAPTER XLIV.
Fourth of July, 1843.--Oration by Mr. Hines.--Meeting of July
5.--Debate on the land law.--How the Jesuits and the Hudson's
Bay Company secured their land claims.--Speech of the Rev. G.
Hines against the proposed Executive Committee.--The
committee supported by O'Neil, Shortess, and Lee.--W. H. Gray
closes the debate.--The report of the committee
adopted.--Committee appointed to report to Congress, another
to make a Digest of Territorial laws, and a third to prepare
and administer an oath of office.
Page 346
CHAPTER XLV.
Organic laws.--Resolutions.--Districts.--Militia law.--Land
claims.--Certificate.
Page 353
CHAPTER XLVI.
Description of the State House.--Conduct of the French
settlers.--Arrival of Dr. Whitman's party of immigrants.--
Prosperity of the settlers.--Change in the policy of the
Hudson's Bay Company.--Their exorbitant claims.
Page 360
CHAPTER XLVII.
Actions speak louder than words.--Efforts of the Hudson's Bay
Company to discourage immigration.--Account of the two
Jesuits, F. N. Blanchet and P. J. De Smet.--Protestant
missionaries discouraged.--Important position of the Rev. G.
Hines.--Recall of the Rev. Jason Lee.--Efforts of the
Hudson's Bay Company to prevent emigration to the
Territory.--Statement of General Palmer.--Indian
combinations.--The Donner party.--Extent of Oregon at this
time.
Page 363
CHAPTER XLVIII.
1844.--The settlements alarmed.--Indian attack.--Death of G.
W. La Breton.--Meeting at Mr. La Chapelle's.--Volunteer
company formed.--The _Modeste_ in the Columbia River.--The
Legislative Assembly.--Names of the members.--Peter H.
Burnett.--Mr. David Hill.--Oregon social standard.--M. M.
McCarver.--"Old Brass Gun."--A. L. Lovejoy.--Daniel
Waldo.--Thomas D. Keizer.--Black act.--Prohibitory liquor
law.
Page 371
CHAPTER XLIX.
Message of the Executive Committee.--Observations on the
message.--Generosity of the Hudson's Bay Company.--The
Methodist Mission.--The Oregon Printing-press
Association.--George Abernethy, Esq.
Page 380
CHAPTER L.
Dr. White's report.--Seizure and destruction of a
distillery.--Homicide of Joel Turnham.--State of the
Territory.--Trials of Dr. White.--The liquor law.--Revenue
act.--Case of the negro Saul.--The Indians kill an ox.--Other
Indian difficulties.--Indian expedition to California.--Death
of the Indian Elijah.--State of the Territory.--Claim of the
Hudson's Bay Company on the north bank of the Columbia.--
Letter of Peter H. Burnett.--The Nez Percés and
Cayuses.--Extract from the report of the United States
Senate.
Page 387
CHAPTER LI.
1845.--Public meetings to elect delegates to convention.--
Candidates for governor.--Members elected to the Legislative
Committee.--Oath of office.--Mr. Applegate's announcement.--
Dr. McLaughlin's amphibiousness.--Description of the members
of the Legislative Committee.--Business of the session.--
Ermatinger's election contested.--Mr. Garrison's
resolutions.--Anti-slavery resolution.--Organic law
revised.--Improvements and condition of the country.
Page 421
CHAPTER LII.
1845.--Second session of the Legislative Committee.--Mr.
McCarver removed from the office of Speaker.--Mr. Applegate's
resolutions.--Protest of Gray, Foisy, and Straight.--A
legislative incident.--Law against dueling.--Dr. White
addresses the Legislature.--Resolutions.--Dr. White denies
the right of the settlers to organize a provisional
government.--McCarver signs documents without authority.--
Resolutions by the house on the subject.--Impertinent
letter from Dr. White to the house.--White cornered by
President Polk.--Incidents in White's temperance
movements.--Proposition to repeal all laws for the collection
of debts.--The Currency act.--Adjournment of the Legislature
in August.--Meets again in December.--Proposal to locate the
capital.
Page 428
CHAPTER LIII.
The liquor law.--Amended act of 1845.--Message of the
governor on the same.--Repeal of the prohibitory and passage
of the license law.--Letter of James Douglas.--Reply of Mr.
Samuel Parker.--Dr. Tolmie's resolution on the judiciary.--
The governor's veto of the license law.--Immigration for
Oregon and California in 1846.--Arrival of the brig
_Henry_.--The Oregon Printing Association.--The _Spectator_,
the first newspaper in Oregon.--W. G. T. Vault, first
editor.--H. A. G. Lee, second editor.--G. L. Curry, third
editor.--Judge Wait, fourth editor.
Page 440
CHAPTER LIV.
The Whitman massacre.--Narratives of, by J. B. A. Brouillet
and J. Ross Browne.--Extract from the New York
_Evangelist_.--Statements of Father Brouillet criticised.--
Testimony of John Kimzey.--Dr. Whitman at Umatilla.--Returns
home.
Page 457
CHAPTER LV.
Occupations of the victims immediately before the
massacre.--Description of the mission buildings.--The Doctor
called into the kitchen to be murdered.--Joe Lewis, the
leader in the massacre.--The scene outside.--The Doctor's
house plundered.--Mrs. Whitman shot.--Brutalities to the dead
and dying.--Escape of some and murder of others.--Safety of
the French Papists and the servants of the Hudson's Bay
Company.--Fate of Joe Lewis.
Page 466
CHAPTER LVI.
Comments on Vicar-General Brouillet's arguments against the
Whitman massacre being the act of Catholics.--Joe Stanfield:
Brouillet's story in his favor.--Murders on the second
day.--Deposition of Daniel Young.--More murders.
Page 472
CHAPTER LVII.
How the country was saved to the United States.--Article from
the New York _Evening Post_.--Ingratitude of the American
Board.--Deposition of Elam Young.--Young girls taken for
Indian wives.--Statement of Miss Lorinda Bewley.--Sager,
Bewley, and Sales killed.
Page 480
CHAPTER LVIII.
Vicar-General Brouillet's statement.--Statement of
Istacus.--The priest finds the poison.--Statement of William
Geiger, Jr.--Conduct of Mr. McBean.--Influence of the Jesuit
missions.
Page 490
CHAPTER LIX.
Continuation of Miss Bewley's evidence.--The priests refuse
her protection.--Forcibly taken from the bishop's house by
Five Crows.--Brouillet advises her to remain with her Indian
violator.--Indecent question by a priest.--Mr. Brouillet
attempts to get a statement from her.--Two questions.--Note
from Mrs. Bewley.--Bishop Blanchet's letter to Governor
Abernethy.--Comments on the Jesuits' proceedings.--Grand
council at the bishop's.--Policy in forcing Miss Bewley to
Five Crows' lodge.--Speeches by Camaspelo and Tilokaikt.--
Killing of Elijah and the Nez Percé chief commented on.--The
true story told.--Dr. White's report.--The grand council
again.--Review of Brouillet's narrative.--Who were the real
authors of the massacre.
Page 497
CHAPTER LX.
The Hudson's Bay Company's and the priests' part in the
massacre.--McBean's messenger.--Plot divulged to Hinman,
Ogden, and Douglas.--Douglas's remark to Hinman.--McBean's
letter.--His perversion of facts.--Comments.--Sir James
Douglas's letter to Governor Abernethy.--His Sandwich Islands
letter.--Its falsehood and absurdity.--Mr. Hinman's letter to
Governor Abernethy.--The dates.--Assertion of Robert
Newell.--Hudson's Bay Company _v._ United States.
Page 517
CHAPTER LXI.
Preliminary events of the Cayuse war.--Message of Governor
Abernethy.--Journal of the house.--Resolutions.--Assembling
of the people at the call of the governor.--Enlisting of
men.--Names of the volunteers.--Names of the officers.--Their
flag.--Their departure.--Letter to Sir James Douglas.--His
reply.--Commissioners return.--Address to the citizens.--
Public meeting.--Report of commissioners to the
Legislature.--Messenger sent to Washington.--Memorial to
Congress.--Champoeg County tax.--Strength of the settlement
called for.--Bishop Blanchet's letter to Governor Abernethy.
Page 535
CHAPTER LXII.
The Cayuse war.--Letter of Captain Lee.--Indians friendly
with the Hudson's Bay Company.--Conduct of Mr. Ogden.--His
letters to Mr. Walker and Mr. Spalding.--Note of Rev. G. H.
Atkinson.--Sir James Douglas's letter to Governor
Abernethy.--A rumor.--The governor's reply.--Another letter
from Sir James.--Mr. Ogden.--Extraordinary presents to the
Indians of arms and ammunition.--Colonel Gilliam's
campaign.--Indian fight.--Property captured.--The Des Chutes
Indians make peace.--Captain McKay's company of British
subjects join the army.--A nuisance.--"Veritas."--Nicholas
Finlay gives the signal for battle.--Running fight.--Captain
McKay's company.--Council held by the peace commissioners
with the Indians.--Governor Abernethy's address.--Speeches of
the Indians Camaspelo, Joseph, Jacob, Old James, Red Wolf,
Timothy, Richard, and Kentuck.--Letters of Joel Palmer, R.
Newell, James Douglas, and William McBean.--Who is
responsible for the Cayuse war?
Page 549
CHAPTER LXIII.
Letter to General Lovejoy.--Call for men and ammunition.--
Yankama chief.--His speech.--Small supply of ammunition.--
Letter of Joseph Cadwallader.--Claim and a girl.--Combined
Indian tribes.--Ladies of Oregon.--Public meeting.--A noble
address.--Vote of thanks.--Address of the young ladies.--
Death of Colonel Gilliam.--His campaign.--Colonel Waters'
letter.--Doubtful position of Indians.--Number at Fort
Wallawalla.--Results of the war.--Jesuit letters.--Fathers
Hoikin and De Smet.--The Choctaws.--Indian confederacy.--Last
hope of the Indian.--Jesuit policy.--The Irish in the war of
the Rebellion.--Father Hecker.--Boasts of the Jesuits.--
Letter of Lieutenant Rogers.--Priests supply the Indians with
arms and ammunition.--Ammunition seized.--Oregon _Argus_.--
Discovery of gold.--No help for the Indian.--Withdrawal of
the Hudson's Bay Company to Vancouver.--The smooth-tongued
Jesuits yet remain.
Page 568
CHAPTER LXIV.
Missions among the Western Indians.--The Coeur d'Alêne
Mission.--Protestant and Catholic missions compared.--What
the American Protestant missionaries have done for the
country and the Indians.--Extent of their influence,
progress, and improvements.--Patriotism of Dr. Whitman.
Page 593
CHAPTER LXV.
Description of the face of the country.--Agricultural and
mining productions.--Timber.--The Wallamet.--Columbia.--
Dalles.--Upper Columbia.--Mountains.--Rivers.--Mineral
wealth.--Climate.--The Northern Pacific Railroad.--
Conclusion.
Page 610
HISTORY OF OREGON.
CHAPTER I.
First discovery of the river.--Natives friendly.--British
ship.--Brig _Jennet_.--Snow _Sea Otter_.--The _Globe_.--
_Alert._--_Guatimozin._--_Atahualpa._--Lewis and Clarke.
--Vancouver.--Hamilton.--Derby.--_Pearl._--_Albatross._--First
house built in 1810.--Astor's settlement.--The _Tonquin_.--Astor's
Company betrayed to the Northwest Company.
In all countries it is difficult to trace the history of their early
discovery and settlement. That of Oregon is no exception. The Spanish
claim, and it is generally conceded, that they were the discoverers of
the coast, and gave names to the principal capes and to Fuca's Straits.
No evidence can be found in national archives, or among the native
tribes of the country, that gives the discovery of the Columbia River to
any civilized people but to the Bostons (Americans); so that, so far as
civil history or national testimony is concerned, we are without any,
except the conjectures of men as ignorant as ourselves. Hence we are
left to the alternative of searching the old logs of vessels and such
old books as have been written, and, in connection with the legends and
statements of the aborigines of the country, form an opinion as to its
discovery, and from such dates and conclusions commence its civil
history. That of Oregon begins eight years previous to the commencement
of the present century.
A ship, owned by Messrs. Barrell, Bulfinch & Co., of Boston, and
commanded by Captain Robert Gray, discovered and entered the mouth of
the third great river upon the American continent. It then had no name
known to the civilized world. This unselfish American, instead of
following the example of many contemporary British navigators by giving
his own name to the majestic river he had discovered, gave it that of
his noble ship, _Columbia_.
On the 7th of May, 1792, he discovered and ran in abreast of Cape
Hancock, and anchored, and on the 11th ran ten miles up this river on
the north side, which is now known as a little above Chinook Point, and
at 1 P.M. they came to anchor. On the 14th they weighed anchor and
ran, according to the ship's log, fifteen miles, which would bring them
up abreast of Tongue Point, where their ship grounded upon a sand bar
for a short time, but they backed her off into three fathoms of water
and anchored. By sounding they discovered that there was not sufficient
water to pass up the river in their present channel. Having filled all
their water-casks, repaired, painted, and calked the ship, and allowed
the vast numbers of Indians that thronged around them in the most
peaceable and friendly manner, to visit and traffic with them, on the
20th of May, 1792, they went to sea again.
On the 20th of October of this year, the _Chatham_, commanded by Captain
Broughton, of the British navy, entered the river. He grounded his ship
on what is now called the Sulphur Spit, and found in the bay the brig
_Jennet_, Captain Baker, from Bristol, Rhode Island. Captain Broughton
explored the river in his small boat as high up as the present site of
Vancouver, and left the river with his ship on the 10th of November.
In 1797, five years later, the snow _Sea Otter_, Captain Hill, from
Boston, visited the river.
In 1798, the ship _Hazard_, Swift, master, owned by Perkins, Lamb & Co.,
Boston, visited the river. This same ship visited the river again in
1801.
In 1802, this same Boston company sent the ship _Globe_, Magee, master,
to the river.
During the year 1802, a brisk, and something like a permanent American
trade appears to have been in contemplation by this Boston company. They
sent the ship _Caroline_, Derby, master, from Boston, and the ship
_Manchester_, Brice, master, from Philadelphia.
In 1803, Lamb & Company sent the ship _Alert_, Ebbets, master; also the
ship _Vancouver_, Brown, master. This year, the ship _Juno_, Kendricks,
master, from Bristol, Rhode Island, owned by De Wolf, entered the
Columbia River for trade.
In the year 1804, Theodore Lyman sent the ship _Guatimozin_, Bumsted,
master, from Boston. The Perkins Company sent the ship _Hazard_, Swift,
master, to the river the same year.
In 1805, Lyman & Company sent the ship _Atahualpa_, O. Potter, master,
from Boston. Lamb & Company sent the ship _Caroline_, Sturges, master,
from the same place.
On the 15th of November, 1805, Lewis and Clarke, with their party,
having crossed the Rocky Mountains under the direction of President
Jefferson, of the United States, arrived at Cape Hancock; remaining but
a few days, they crossed the Columbia River and encamped near the mouth
of a small river still bearing the name of these two explorers. They
left their encampment in March, 1806, and returned across the continent
and reported the result of their expedition to the government.
This expedition consisted of one hundred and eighty soldiers or enlisted
men. On arriving at the Mandan Village, on the Missouri River, in 1804,
they encountered the influence of the Northwest British Fur Company,
who, on learning their object, at once made arrangements to follow and
get possession of the country at the mouth of the Columbia River.
In 1806, soon after Lewis and Clarke left their encampment on their
return to the United States, the ship _Vancouver_, Brown, master,
entered the river, having been sent out by Thomas Lyman, of Boston, in
expectation of meeting Lewis and Clarke's party at the mouth of the
river. The Lamb Company sent the ship _Pearl_ the same year, under the
command of Captain Ebbets. Lyman, in addition to the _Vancouver_, sent
the brig _Lydia_, Hill, master, to the river, making three American
ships from Boston in the year 1806.
In 1807, the ship _Hamilton_ arrived in the river, sent by Thomas Lyman,
of Boston, L. Peters, master. The Perkins Company sent the _Hazard_,
Smith, master.
In 1808, the ship _Derby_, Swift, master, sent by the Perkins Company.
Lyman sent the ship _Guatimozin_, Glanville, master; both made
successful trips in and out of the river.
In 1809, the Perkins Company sent the ships _Pearl_ and _Vancouver_ into
the river, the former commanded by Smith, the latter by Whittimore.
In 1810, the ship _Albatross_, from Boston, T. Winship, master, entered
the river and sailed as high up as Oak Point, where the captain erected
a house, cleared a piece of land for cultivation, and planted a garden.
This year, John Jacob Astor, of New York, organized the Pacific Fur
Company, in connection with Wilson Price Hunt, of New Jersey. These two
gentlemen admitted as partners in the fur trade, Messrs. McKay,
McDougal, and David and Robert Stewart. These four last-mentioned
partners, with eleven clerks and thirteen Canadian voyageurs, and a
complete outfit for a fort, with cannon and small-arms, stores, shops,
and houses, with five mechanics, were all embarked on the ship
_Tonquin_, Captain Jonathan Thorn, master, in September, 1810, and
sailed for the Columbia River, where they arrived, March 24, 1811.
The present site of the town of Astoria was selected as the principal
depot for this American Fur Company, and called by them, in honor of the
originator of the company, ASTORIA. This establishment was soon in full
operation. The timber and thick undergrowth within musket range of the
establishment were cleared away, and a kitchen-garden planted outside
the stockade.
In the highly-interesting narrative of Gabriel Franchere, we read that,
"in the month of May, 1811, on a rich piece of land in front of our
establishment [at Astoria], we put into the ground twelve potatoes, so
shriveled up during the passage from New York that we despaired of
raising any from the few sprouts that still showed signs of life.
Nevertheless, we raised one hundred and nineteen potatoes the first
season. And, after sparing a few plants to our inland traders, we
planted fifty or sixty hills, which produced five bushels the second
year; about two of these were planted, and gave us a welcome crop of
fifty bushels in the year 1813."
They were cultivated at Astoria, by the old Northwest and Hudson's Bay
companies, in their little fort gardens. A few Indian chiefs were
presented with the seed, but no general distribution was made among
them, as they were considered as the Bostons' root, and no better than
those of the Indians, abounding in the country, which required less
labor to cultivate. Up to the time of the arrival of the American
missionaries, there never was an extra supply of potatoes in the
country. In other words, the potato was a luxury enjoyed by none except
the highest grades of the Fur Company's servants and distinguished
visitors; its cultivation was not generally encouraged by the company.
In October, 1810, after dispatching the _Tonquin_, Mr. Astor fitted out
the ship _Beaver_, twenty guns, Captain Sowles, master, with Mr. Clark,
six clerks, and a number of other persons, to join the establishment at
Astoria. The ship touched at the Sandwich Islands; Mr. Clark engaged
twenty-six Kanakas as laborers for the establishments on the Columbia
River, where the ship arrived, May 5, 1812.
On the 15th of July, 1813, Mr. David Thompson, under the direction of
the Northwest Canadian British Company, arrived at Astoria. I use the
word Canadian, as applied to the Northwest Fur Company, that was
established by the charter of Louis XIII. of France, 1630, in what was
then called Acadia, or New France, forty years before Charles of England
gave his charter to the Hudson's Bay Company. This Northwest Fur
Company, in the transfer of the sovereignty of Acadia, or New France, to
England, in 1714, at the treaty of Utrecht, was acknowledged as having a
legal existence, by both nations, and was allowed to transfer its
allegiance and continue its trade under the protection of the British
sovereign, as it had done under that of France.
As soon as the government and people of the United States entered upon
active measures to explore and occupy the country west of the Rocky
Mountains, this Canadian Northwest Fur Company dispatched Mr. Thompson
to explore the Columbia River, and make an establishment at its mouth;
but, on account of delays and mistaking the course of the various rivers
through which the party traveled, Mr. Thompson did not arrive at Mr.
Astor's American establishment till in July, 1813; his object was to
forestall Mr. Astor in the settlement of the country. He was received,
kindly treated, and furnished with such goods and supplies as he and his
party required, by Mr. McDougal, who was then in charge of Fort Astor,
and, in company with David Stewart, returned as high up the Columbia as
the Spokan,--Mr. Greenhow says Okanagon,--and established a
trading-post, while Mr. Thompson went among the Kootenai and Flathead
tribes, and established a trading-hut. It is due to those parties to
state that as late as 1836, a square, solid, hewed log bastion, erected
by Stewart's party, was still standing at Spokan, while no vestige of
the Thompson huts could be found in the Flathead country. At Spokan,
garden vegetables were produced about the fort, which the Indians in
that vicinity learned to appreciate, and continued to cultivate after
the fort was abandoned in 1825, having been occupied by the Northwest
and Hudson's Bay companies till that time.
In the spring of 1811, the chief agent of the Pacific Fur Company, Mr.
Hunt, with other partners, Crooks, McKenzie, and McClellen, with a party
of sixty men, started across the continent. They were extremely annoyed
by the opposition fur traders on their route, and also by hostile
Indians. Such of the party as did not perish by famine and hostile
Indians, and British fur traders, arrived at Astoria on the 28th of
January, 1812.
On the 5th of May following the arrival of Mr. Hunt's party, the ship
_Beaver_ arrived with the third installment of traders, clerks, and
Kanaka laborers. In consequence of the loss of the ship _Tonquin_, and
all on board except the Indian interpreter, in the Cliquot Bay, near the
entrance of the Straits of Fuca, by the treachery of the Indians in the
vicinity, Mr. Hunt embarked in the _Beaver_ for the Russian
establishment in August, 1812, effected an arrangement of trade with
them, and dispatched the ship to China. He continued in her till she
reached the Sandwich Islands, where he remained until June, 1813, when
the ship _Albatross_ arrived from Canton, and brought the news of the
war between the United States and Great Britain, and also that the ship
_Beaver_ was blockaded at Canton by a British ship of war. Mr. Hunt at
once chartered the _Albatross_ and sailed for the Columbia River, where
he arrived on the 4th of August, 1813.
On his arrival at Astoria he learned that it was the intention of his
partners, all of whom claimed to be British subjects (McDougal and
McKenzie having formerly been in the employ of the Northwest Company),
to sell to McTavish, of that company. Hunt embarked in the _Albatross_
for the Sandwich Islands, and from thence to the Washington Islands,
where he learned from Commodore Porter, then at those Islands, in the
frigate _Essex_, of the design of the British to seize all American
property on the Pacific coast. From thence he returned to the Sandwich
Islands, and chartered the brig _Pedler_, and arrived at Astoria in
February, 1814, and learned that soon after his departure in the
_Albatross_, in August, 1813, McTavish, with a party of the servants of
the Northwest Company, had arrived at Astoria, and, in connection with
McDougal, McKenzie, and Clarke, on the part of the American Pacific Fur
Company, and McTavish and Alexander Stewart, on the part of the Canadian
Northwest Company, had completed the sale of Astoria to that company,
and secured for themselves important positions in the service of the
latter company.
As a matter of fact and general historical interest, the amount and
value of property thus transferred is here given: Eighteen thousand one
hundred and seventy and one-fourth pounds of beaver, at two dollars per
pound, selling in Canton at that time at from five to six dollars per
pound; nine hundred and seventy otter skins, at fifty cents each,
selling at that time in Canton for five and six dollars per skin.
The expense of building Mr. Astor's establishment at Astoria, including
those at Okanagon and Spokan, with boats, _bateaux_, tools, cannon,
munitions, goods, transportation and salaries of clerks and men, etc.,
etc., was near two hundred thousand dollars, for which he received in
bills on Montreal about forty thousand, including the appraised value of
the furs at the fort, which was thirty-six thousand eight hundred and
thirty-five dollars and fifty cents; this would leave less than three
thousand one hundred and sixty-four dollars and fifty cents for the
improvements, boats, munitions, cannon, etc., for which the Hudson's Bay
Company, in 1865, claims of our government, for the old, rotten, and
abandoned post at Okanagon, nineteen thousand four hundred and sixty-six
dollars and sixty-seven cents; the post at Colville, still held in place
of the one built by Astor's company at Spokan, eighty thousand three
hundred dollars; the post at Fort George (Astoria), abandoned in 1849,
four thousand one hundred and thirty-six dollars and sixty-seven cents;
in all, for the three establishments, one hundred and three thousand
nine hundred and three dollars and thirty-four cents--quite a contrast
between the valuation of American property when in possession of British
fur traders, having been used for forty years by British subjects, and
abandoned as of little or no use to their trade, and that of American
property but lately brought into the country. It will be remembered
that Mr. Astor's Pacific Fur Company was commenced in 1810; that at the
time it was betrayed into the possession of this Canadian Northwest Fur
Company it had been in operation but two years, hence was new, and but
just ready to commence a profitable trade in the country.
The contract transferring this valuable property from American to
British owners, was signed on the 16th day of October, 1813, by Duncan
McDougal, J. G. McTavish, and J. Stewart, and witnessed by the principal
clerks of the establishment. On the 1st of December following, the
British sloop of war _Raccoon_, Captain Black, arrived in the river, and
proceeded to take formal possession of Astoria, by lowering the American
flag and hoisting that of Great Britain in its place, and changing the
name of the fort to that of Fort George.
Previous to the landing of the British soldiers, or King George's
warriors, an interview took place (as related by Ross Cox) between the
Indian warriors, with Concomly, their chief, at their head, and McDougal
and McTavish. On the arrival of the British war vessel in Baker's Bay,
the Indians, having learned that there was war between the King George
people and Bostons (Americans), they said, as they had always found the
Bostons friendly and liberal toward them, they were their friends, and
were ready to fight for them, to prevent the King George men from making
them slaves. They proposed to conceal themselves behind the rocks and
trees outside of the fort and to kill the King George soldiers with
their arrows and spears, while the men of the fort fought the ship and
small boats which they came in, with their big guns and rifles. McDougal
assured them that the King George warriors would not hurt them, and
advised them to be friendly with them, as they would do the people of
the fort no harm. Concomly and his warriors were only convinced that the
Bostons would not be made slaves by the King George warriors when they saw
the sloop leave the river without taking any of them away as prisoners
or slaves.
The treachery of the Canadian part of Astor's company, which was not
known to Mr. Astor, but provided for by the Northwest Canadian Company
before the party left Montreal, and consummated by McDougal and his
associates, in the absence of the American partners from the post, is
proved by journals, letters, and facts still extant.
CHAPTER II.
The country restored.--The order.--Description of
Astoria.--Different parties.--Northwest Fur Company.--Astor's
plan.--Conflict of the two British fur companies.--The
treaties.--The Selkirk settlement.--Its object.--The company
asserts chartered rights as soon as united.
As stated in our first chapter, the English government, by its Canadian
Northwest Fur Company, and the arrival of the British sloop of war,
_Raccoon_, during the war of 1812-13, took possession of Oregon, and
held it as British territory till it was formally restored to the United
States on the 6th of October, 1818, in these words:--
We, the undersigned, do, in conformity to the first article of the
treaty of Ghent, restore to the government of the United States,
through its agent, J. P. Provost, Esq., the settlement of Fort
George, on the Columbia River.
Given under our hands in triplicate, at Fort George (Columbia
River), this 6th day of October, 1818.
F. HICKEY, Captain H. M. Ship _Blossom_.
J. KEITH, of the N. W. Co.
The order from the Prince Regent of England to the Northwest Company to
deliver up the country to the American government, was issued on January
27, 1818, and complied with as above.
On the 17th of April, 1814, the Canadian Northwest Fur Company's ship,
_Isaac Todd_, reached Astoria, called Fort George.
According to the description sent to Washington by Mr. Provost, it
consisted of a stockade made of fir-logs, twenty feet high above the
ground, inclosing a parallelogram of one hundred and fifty by two
hundred and fifty feet, extending in its greatest length from northwest
to southeast, and defended by bastions, or towers, at two opposite
angles. Within this inclosure were all the buildings of the
establishment, such as dwelling-houses, magazines, storehouses,
mechanics' shops, etc.
The artillery were two heavy 18-pounders, six 6-pounders, four
4-pounders, two 6-pound coehorns, and seven swivels, all mounted.
The number of persons attached to the place besides the few native women
and children, was sixty-five; of whom twenty-three were white,
twenty-six Kanakas, and the remainder of mixed blood from Canada.
Of the party that crossed the Rocky Mountains with Mr. Hunt in 1811-12,
six remained in the country, and but five returned to the United States;
the remaining forty-five that started with him in his first expedition
were mostly destroyed by the influence of the two British fur companies
acting upon the Indians for that object.
These men, as independent trappers and petty traders among the Indians,
were considered by those companies as intruders and trespassers upon
their French and British chartered rights; hence none were allowed to
remain in the country but such as were under their control, or subject
to their rule.
From the time the Northwest Fur Company took possession of the country,
with few exceptions, we have no authentic account of the number of
vessels of any nation that visited the river, but we have reason to
believe that they would average two each year; and, from known facts, we
conclude that as soon as the post at Astoria was betrayed into the
possession of the Canadian Northwest Fur Company by McDougal and
associates, and the British government had taken formal possession of
the country, this Northwest Company, with McDougal and others equally
prominent, commenced to instill into the minds of the Indians a strong
hatred of American traders by sea or land, and to change as much, and as
fast as possible, the friendly feeling of the former toward the latter,
so as to continue to hold the permanent and absolute sovereignty of the
country, and make the Indians subservient to their commercial interests.
Mr. Astor says: "The plan by me adopted was such as must materially have
affected the interests of the Northwest and Hudson's Bay companies, and
it was easy to be foreseen that they would employ every means to
counteract my operations, and which, as my impression, I stated to the
executive of your department as early as February, 1813." This hatred of
Americans had been so assiduously impressed upon the minds of the
Indians, that one of their own vessels arriving in the river, being cast
away on Sand Island, all on board were murdered by the Indians, who
mistook them for Americans. The company sent a vessel from Vancouver (to
which place they had removed their stores and principal depot) to punish
the Indians, who had secured most of the wrecked property. The vessel
came down and sent shell and grapeshot into the Indian village,
destroying men, women, and children, landed their men and took such of
their goods as they could find, having gained satisfactory evidence of
the murder of the crew of the ship.
This view of the policy and practice of this Northwest and Hudson's Bay
Company, is further sustained by the inquiries which Mr. Keith felt it
incumbent on him to make of Mr. Provost, on the restoration of Astoria
to the Americans by the British authorities.
Mr. Keith was anxious to learn the extent of the rights of his company
to remain and trade in the country. It would seem, from the whole
history of these companies, that they felt their rights in the country
to be but temporary, that they were trespassers upon American interests,
and shaped all their arrangements accordingly.
It is an admitted historical fact that, while the Northwest Fur Company
of Montreal was extending its trade across the Rocky Mountains and
supplanting the American Pacific Fur Company of Mr. Astor, the Hudson's
Bay Company, with the assistance of Lord Selkirk's Red River settlement,
was cutting off their communication with these western establishments,
and that, in consequence of this Red River interference with their
trade, a deadly feud sprang up between the rival companies, in which
both parties enlisted all the men and Indians over whom they had any
influence, and frequently met in drunken and deadly strife, till they
had quite destroyed all profits in their trade, and rendered the Indians
hostile alike to friend and foe of the white race. So that, in 1821, the
British Parliament was compelled to notice their proceedings, and, on
the 2d of July, 1821, in an act bearing date as above, says of them:--
"Whereas, the competition in the fur trade between the governor
and company of adventurers of England trading into Hudson's Bay,
and certain associations of persons trading under the name of the
Northwest Company of Montreal, has been found, for some years
past, to be productive of great inconvenience and loss, not only
to the said company and association, but to the said trade in
general, and also of _great injury to the native Indians_, and of
other persons subjects of _his Majesty_; and whereas, the
_animosities_ and _feuds_ arising from such competition have also,
for some years past, kept the interior of America, to the
northward and westward of the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada,
and of the _Territories of the United States of America_, in a
state of _continual disturbance_; and whereas, many breaches of
the peace and violence extending to the _loss of lives_ and
considerable destruction of property have continually occurred
therein," etc. (See Greenhow's History of Oregon, p. 467.)
The broad policy of British fur traders is here stated in plain language
by their own government in a manner not to be mistaken. Their influence
upon the Indians was injurious. Their policy toward each other was war
and destruction to all opponents. The life and property of an opposing
trader must not come in competition with the profits of their trade with
Indians in any country.
How absurd it is for our government to spend millions of dollars to form
treaties with Indians who are constantly visited by these foreign Indian
traders and teachers, emissaries of a foreign power, who never breathed
an honest breath or spoke a truthful word! Feeble and insignificant as
they were, from 1813 to 1821 the whole Indian country of North America
fell under their blighting and withering influence. Divided as they
were, they were able to crush all honest competition, and _combine_ in
deadly combat against their own countrymen for the supremacy of the
Indian trade. Have they lost their power and influence by uniting the
elements of opposition in one vast fur monopoly? Nay, verily, as we
shall see.
To gain a correct understanding of the foreign policy relative to the
western portion of our country, it will be necessary to refer to the
early history of the two fur companies, and trace their connection with
France and England, which, notwithstanding the English government had
given up the country to France in 1696 in the treaty of Ryswick, and no
reservation was made on account of the Hudson's Bay Company--as they did
Oregon to the United States in the treaty of Ghent, in 1815, and made no
reservation on account of the Northwest Fur Company--still the Hudson's
Bay Company held on to a single post, called Albany, on the southwest
part of James Bay, for twenty-six years, as the Northwest and Hudson's
Bay fur companies did to Astoria and Oregon for forty-nine years.
In the wording of the treaty of Utrecht, in 1714, in which the country
was given back to England by France, there is one proviso that is not to
be overlooked, viz.: "It is, however, provided, that it may be entirely
free for the company of Quebec, and all others the subjects of the most
Christian king whatsoever, to go, by land or by sea, whithersoever they
please, out of the lands of the said bay, together with all their goods,
merchandise, arms, and effects, of what nature or condition soever,
except such things as are above reserved in this article," etc., the
exceptions referring to forts, cannon, and permanent war materials.
This French stipulation in the treaty of Utrecht, in 1714, is repeated
by the English diplomatist upon the Americans, in the third article of
the treaty of June 15, 1846, forming the basis of the claim urged
against our government in the treaty of 1864.
In the treaty stipulations between France and England in 1714, the
commercial rights of the French company of Quebec were secured to them.
From that time forward, the aggressive and oppressive policy of the
British Hudson's Bay Company was brought into collision, not only with
the French Northwest Fur Company, but with the United States and all
American fur companies and missionary and commercial enterprises coming
within their fur-trade influence.
It will be remembered that the Hudson's Bay Company, who claim their
existence and privileges from the charter of Charles II., as early as
1670, had, in forty-four years' time, only established (as Mr.
Fitzgerald says) "four or five insignificant forts on the shores of
Hudson's Bay to carry on a trade in furs with those Indians who resorted
thither;" while the French, for many years previous, had carried on an
active trade with the Indians, and had explored the country and extended
their posts up to the shores of the Saskatchewan, and over the Rocky
Mountains, on to the waters of the Columbia. The French carried on the
traffic by way of the St. Lawrence and the lakes to Fort William, on
Lake Superior, and through the Lake of the Woods into Lake Winnipeg, or
further south along the plains, crossing the course of the Red River;
this being the direct and only line of posts kept up by the French
Northwest Company, by which their food, goods, and furs were
transported. The Hudson's Bay Company carried theirs by way of Hudson's
Straits, around the coast of Labrador. In order to destroy and cut off
as much as possible the trade of this Northwest Company, Lord Selkirk,
in 1811-12, became a shareholder, and was allowed to claim, through the
directors of the company, sixteen thousand square miles of territory in
the Red River country, for the professed purpose of colonization.
This colony was planted directly in the line of the fur traffic of the
Northwest Company, against which the Hudson's Bay Company had encouraged
and carried on the most bitter hostility, enlisting both men and Indians
in a deadly feud between the two rival companies.
Our English writer remarks on page 57: "To those who had read the mutual
recriminations that had been bandied between these two bodies, it was a
strange sight to see the names of Messrs. McGillivray and Edward Ellice
associated with that of the Hudson's Bay Company,--to see men going
hand-in-hand who had openly accused one another of the foulest crimes,
_of wholesale robbery, of allowing their servants to instigate the
Indian tribes to_ MURDER _the servants of their rivals_,--this was a
strange sight. And to see gentlemen who had publicly denied the validity
of the company's charter, who had taken the opinion of the leading
counsel of the day against it, who had tried every means, lawful and
unlawful, to overthrow it, to see these same men range themselves under
its protection, and, asserting all that they had before denied,
proclaim its validity as soon as they were admitted to share its
advantages; who, without its pale, asserted the rights of British
subjects against its monopoly, and, within its pale, asserted its
monopoly against the rights of British subjects,--this, too, was a
strange sight. Yet to all this did the Hudson's Bay Company submit,
rather than subject their charter and their claims to the investigation
of a court of law."
The Hudson's Bay Company, one hundred and fifty years from the date of
its charter, asserted its right to the country, and, by virtue of the
privileges conferred in that charter, seized the supplies and goods of
the Northwest French Canadian Company, and confiscated them to its own
use. This resulted in a deadly war between the two companies, and was
carried on, neither party applying to the courts of the mother country
for a settlement of their difficulties; in fact, as has been shown by
reference to the charter of the Hudson's Bay Company, they had no legal
rights, because none were in existence at the date of their charter;
but, from the maneuvering of the company and the plausible efforts of
Lord Selkirk to colonize, civilize, and settle the Red River country,
they entered into his schemes, in order to crush the rival company and
secure the whole country to themselves. It is unnecessary to detail any
accounts of the horrid murders and infamous transactions that were put
on foot and perpetrated by these two companies. After a furious
contention, carried on for several years, "they bribed rivals whom they
could not defeat, and the two companies united and agreed to carry on
the fur trade together, to the exclusion of all others."
The Selkirk settlement was soon made to feel the withering influence of
the company that had located it in the country for a specific purpose,
_Neither, however, was there any compromise_ till its inhabitants had
been driven from their homes, its Governor (Semple) and seventeen of his
followers killed. Then a compromise was effected between the rival
companies, and they were united by an act of Parliament, under the title
of Honorable Hudson's Bay Company, in 1821,--a license given to Messrs.
William and Simon McGillivray, of the Northwest Company, and Edward
Ellice, of the Hudson's Bay Company. These corporate members and their
associates "were to share the profits arising from the fur trade, not
only from the Indian territories, but also from the Hudson's Bay
Company's proper territories of Rupert's Land." The privileges of this
company were limited to seven years. This carried them forward to 1828,
in which year their license (called a charter) was renewed for ten
years.
Our Indian missionary and American history commences in 1832, six years
before this combined Northwest and Hudson's Bay Company's license of
exclusive privileges to trade in British Indian Territory, and, jointly,
in the Oregon Territory, would expire. Our English historian and Sir
Edward Belcher are both mistaken when they attribute to the company the
asking for, or in any way encouraging, the American missionaries to come
to the country. This was an event wholly unknown to them, and brought
about by the Indians themselves, by sending a delegation of four of
their number to St. Louis, in 1832, to ask of the American people a
religious teacher. Lee, Parker, and Whitman heard the request, and
volunteered to make the effort to establish missions among them.
These missionaries all came across the Rocky Mountains unasked and
uninvited by any one in the service of that company.
CHAPTER III.
English Hudson's Bay effort to secure Oregon.--British claim to
Oregon.--Dr. McLaughlin's relation to the company.--Treatment of
Red River settlers.--A mistake.--Sir Edward Belcher.--Duplicity of
the Hudson's Bay Company.--A noble man.--An Englishman's opinion of
the Hudson's Bay Company.--Sir James Douglas's testimony.--J. Ross
Browne.--Duty of an historian.--Cause and effect.
Since commencing this work we have, by the kindness of friends who have
taken a deep interest in all that relates to this country, been
furnished with many valuable and important statements, documents,
pamphlets, papers, and books, all relating to its early history.
Of the whole catalogue, the most valuable information is contained in a
work entitled "An Examination of the Charter and Proceedings of the
Hudson's Bay Company, with Reference to the Grant of Vancouver's Island.
By James Edward Fitzgerald. London." Published in 1849.
The author of this book, though not having the personal knowledge of the
company, the Indians, and the country about which he writes requisite to
a complete history, has shown a correctness of statistical facts, a
comprehensive knowledge of his subject, an enlarged view of the British
colonial system, and a correct idea of the debasing practices and
utterly false positions of the Hudson's Bay Company not found in any
other writer.
Up to the time that this book of 293 pages fell into my hands, I did not
know that any writer entertained similar views with myself in relation
to this monstrous imposition upon the British and American people.
Mr. Fitzgerald has fortified his statements by his knowledge of the
English people, their laws and usages, and the casual outcroppings of a
system of unparalleled selfishness and despotism, carried on under the
guise of a Christian commercial company, whose professed object was to
extend commerce, and civilize and christianize the savage tribes of
North America, yet who have invariably held up their Christian chartered
privileges for the sole purpose of carrying on the most degrading and
inhuman practices with not only the savages, but with all civilized and
Christian men who have attempted to expose or even investigate their
conduct.
As we proceed with our history, we feel confident that we shall be able
to enlighten our readers on many dark subjects and transactions, and to
fully prove every statement we have made, or may yet make. Mr.
Fitzgerald has given us clearly and truthfully the English side of our
history as connected with this Hudson's Bay Company. The American part
of it the writer is gathering up, and, in giving it to the public, will
discard every statement that does not bear the impress of truth.
The reader will notice that our subject is extensive, that England and
America, commerce and Christianity, civilization and savagism, are all
involved and interested in it, and that Oregon, California, and British
and Russian America have all participated in it during the past and
present century; that we are tracing cause and effect and bringing to
light influences that, while producing their legitimate results, were
strange and unaccountable, because always kept under the selfish and
unscrupulous policy of this English corporation of fur traders.
By referring to the charter of the Hudson's Bay Company, we find that it
was given by Charles II., in 1670, granting to the "governor and company
and their successors the exclusive right to trade, fish, and hunt in the
waters, bays, rivers, lakes, and creeks entering into Hudson's Straits,
together with all the lands and territories not already occupied or
granted to any of the king's subjects, or possessed by the subjects of
any other Christian prince or State."
Forty years previous to the giving of this charter by Charles II., of
England, Louis XIII., of France, gave a charter to a French company, who
occupied the country called Acadia, or New France.
In 1632, Charles I., of England, resigned to Louis XIII., of France, the
sovereignty of the country then called Acadia, or New France.
Forty years after Louis XIII., of France, had given his charter, and
thirty-eight years after Charles I., of England, had given up his right
to the country, Charles II., of England, imitating the example of him
who wished to give the world and all its glory to obtain the worship of
the Saviour of mankind, gave to the Hudson's Bay Company what he had not
the shadow of a title to, as in the treaty of Ryswick, in 1697,
twenty-seven years after this charter of the Hudson's Bay Company had
been given, the whole country was confirmed to France, and no
reservation made on account of the Hudson's Bay Company.
Mr. Fitzgerald, on his 12th page, says: "It has often been asserted, and
is to a great extent believed, because there is very little general
information on this subject, that the _claim which Great Britain made to
the Oregon Territory was dependent upon, or, at any rate, strengthened
by, the settlement of the Hudson's Bay Company on the Columbia River_.
"Those who hold such an opinion will be surprised to learn that there
are many, and they well acquainted with the country itself, who assert
that the conduct and policy of the Hudson's Bay Company in the Oregon
Territory formed the chief part of the title which the United States had
to the country, which was gratuitously given to her by the settlement of
the boundary. What the United States owe to the company for its policy
on the west side of the Rocky Mountains is a question to which the
English public will some day demand a satisfactory answer.
"Dr. McLaughlin was formerly an agent in the Northwest Fur Company of
Montreal; he was one of the most enterprising and active in conducting
the war between that association and the Hudson's Bay Company. In the
year 1821, when the rival companies united, Dr. McLaughlin became a
factor of the Hudson's Bay Company. But his allegiance does not appear
to have been disposed of along with his interests, and his sympathy with
any thing other than British, seems to have done justice to his birth
and education, which were those of a French Canadian. This gentleman was
appointed governor of all the country west of the Rocky Mountains, and
is accused, by those who have been in that country, of having uniformly
encouraged the emigration of settlers from the United States, and of
having discouraged that of British subjects. _While the company in this
country (England) were asserting that their settlements on the Columbia
River were giving validity to the claim of Great Britain to the Oregon
Territory_, it appears that their chief officer on the spot was doing
all in his power to facilitate the operations of those whose whole
object it was to annihilate that claim altogether."
Mr. Fitzgerald has given us in the above statement an important fact,
and one that reveals to an American the deep-laid schemes of the English
government, which, by the influence of the Hudson's Bay Company, sought
to secure the Oregon Territory to itself. He also explains the conduct
of Dr. McLaughlin in his treatment of emigrants, as well as the relation
he sustained to that company. While, as Americans, we can admire and
applaud the conduct of a noble and generous "_Canadian-born_" _citizen_,
we at the same time can see the low, debasing, and mean spirit of the
Englishman, as manifested in the attempt to deprive the American
Republic of its rightful domain.
We shall have occasion to refer to the bringing into Oregon of the Red
River settlers, and as the result of that move, the unparalleled effort
of Dr. Whitman to defeat the British designs upon the country.
Mr. Fitzgerald explains that matter so well, that we could not do
justice to the truth of history not to quote him. He says, on the 14th
page of his work: "There is one story told, about which it is right that
the truth should be ascertained. It is said that a number of half-breeds
from the Red River settlement were, in the year of 1841-2, induced by
the company's officers to undertake a journey entirely across the
continent, with the object of becoming settlers on the Columbia River.
It appears that a number went, but on arriving in the country, so far
from finding any of the promised encouragement, the treatment they
received from Dr. McLaughlin was such, that, after having been nearly
starved under the paternal care of that gentleman, they all went over to
the American settlement in the Wallamet Valley."
This statement, while it affirms an important fact, gives a false
impression as regards Dr. McLaughlin. He, to our certain knowledge,
extended to the Red River settlers every facility within his power, and
all of those emigrants to this day speak of his kindness in the highest
terms. But not so of other leading or controlling members, who really
represented the English part and policy of that company. Those settlers
complained of the domineering and tyrannical treatment of their English
overseers, which was the cause of their leaving what they supposed would
eventually be the English part of Oregon Territory. They also became
sensible that the Hudson's Bay Company in Oregon was a different concern
from the Hudson's Bay Company in Rupert's Land; that, however small
their privileges were there, they were less on Puget Sound; and being
near an American settlement, they naturally sought its advantages and
protection.
Mr. Fitzgerald informs us that "these emigrants became citizens of the
United States, and it is further said were the first to memorialize
Congress to extend the power of the United States over the Oregon
Territory. For the truth of these statements we do not, of course vouch,
but we do say they demand inquiry."
This statement of Mr. Fitzgerald entitles him to be considered a candid
and fair writer, and one who is seeking for truth in reference to the
subject he is investigating. He has naturally imbibed the feelings of an
Englishman against Dr. McLaughlin, under the strong effort made by the
English Hudson's Bay Company to suppress and supersede the French
Canadian influence in it.
He says, on page 15: "Dr. McLaughlin's policy was so manifestly American
that it is openly canvassed in a book written by Mr. Dunn, one of the
servants of the company, and written for the purpose of praising their
system and policy."
Sir Edward Belcher also alludes to this policy. He says: "Some few
years since, the company determined on forming settlements on the rich
lands situated on the Wallamet and other rivers, and for providing for
their retired servants, by allotting them farms, and further aiding them
by supplies of cattle, etc. That on the Wallamet was a field too
inviting for missionary enthusiasm to overlook, but instead of selecting
a British subject to afford them spiritual assistance, recourse was had
to Americans, a course pregnant with evil consequences, and particularly
in the political squabble pending, as will be seen by the result. No
sooner had the American and his allies fairly squatted (which they deem
taking possession of the country), than they invited their brethren to
join them, and called on the American government for laws and
protection."
The American reader will smile at Sir Edward's little fling at the
_squatters_ in Oregon. He asserts a great truth in the same sentence
that he utters a positive falsehood. No member of the Hudson's Bay
Company, nor the whole company together, ever encouraged a single
American missionary to come to the country. Revs. Lee and Parker and Dr.
Whitman came without their invitation or aid. They were entirely
independent of the company, and were only suffered to remain, the
company not daring to drive them from the country on their first
arrival, as they all held the protection of the American government, as
Indian teachers, under the great seal of the Secretary of War. This
English fling at their own company is evidence of a jealousy existing
which could not be satisfied short of the utter extermination of all
American influence on this coast, and is further illustrated by this
same Sir Edward Belcher, in contrasting the treatment of Captain Wilkes
and his party with that of his own. He says (vol. 1, p. 297): "The
attention of the chief to myself and those immediately about me,
particularly in sending down fresh supplies, previous to my arrival, I
feel fully grateful for; but I can not conceal my disappointment at the
want of accommodation exhibited toward the crews of the vessels under my
command in a _British possession_." We old Oregonians are amused at Sir
Edward's ignorance of the Hudson's Bay Company's treatment of the
_crews_ of vessels, and servants of the company. We all know his crew
were allowed to associate freely with the native women in the country
and to distribute their rations of rum, and any other supplies they
might have, without any remonstrance from the company. Sir Edward
continues: "We certainly were not distressed, nor was it imperatively
necessary that fresh beef and vegetables should be supplied, or I should
have made a formal demand. But as regarded those who might come after,
and not improbably myself among the number, I inquired in direct terms
what facilities her Majesty's ship of war might expect, in the event of
touching at this port for bullocks, flour, vegetables, etc. I certainly
was extremely surprised at the reply that they were not in a condition
to supply. As any observation here would be useless, and I well knew
this point could be readily settled where authority could be referred
to, I let the matter rest. But having been invited to inspect the farm
and dairy, and been informed of the quantity of grain, and the means of
furnishing flour, and notwithstanding the profusion of cattle and
potatoes, no offer having been made for our crew, I regretted that I had
been led into the acceptance of private supplies; although, at that
time, the other officers of the establishment had told my officers that
supplies would of course be sent down."
Mr. Fitzgerald says "_the American policy of the Hudson's Bay Company_
would seem, from the above facts, to be more than a matter of
suspicion," while we Americans are only disposed to regard them as a
part of the _duplicity_ of that company in their effort _to deceive
their own countrymen_ as to the value of the country over which they had
ruled so long.
They had been too successful in deceiving all American writers to allow
their own countrymen to understand their secret policy. Sir Edward
Belcher and our English historian were equally misled in relation to the
_American policy of the Hudson's Bay Company_. It is true that Dr.
McLaughlin, though he was a French Canadian subject, had not lost his
American soul. The British iron had not driven the last noble sentiment
of humanity from his heart, nor his connection with that polluted
corporation of iniquity which pervades half the continent of North
America; for when he found that this Hudson's Bay Company was utterly
lost to humanity, he tells them to their teeth: "_Gentlemen, I will
serve you no longer_."
No true American historian will allow, without contradiction, that
corrupt company to hand down to future infamy the name of a noble and
generous servant, because their infamous policy was defeated by the
establishment of the American missions in the country. Dr. McLaughlin
did all that he could, honorably, to comply with their "system of
iniquity."
Our English author says, on page 19, in reference to the conduct of the
company: "They are convictions which have strengthened and deepened at
every step of the inquiry; convictions that the Hudson's Bay Company has
entailed misery and destruction upon thousands throughout the country
which is withering under its curse; that it has cramped and crippled the
energies and enterprise of England, which might have found occupation in
the directions from which they are now excluded; that it has stopped
the extension of civilization, and has _excluded the light of religious
truth_; that it has alienated the hearts of all under its oppression,
and made them hostile to their country; above all, that the whole and
entire fabric is built upon utterly false and fictitious grounds; that
it has not one shadow of reality in law or in justice; that there is not
the smallest legal authority for any one of the rights which this
corporation claims. It is this conviction which has urged me to submit
the statements and arguments contained in the following pages to the
consideration of the public; and to arraign before that tribunal, from
which in these days there is no escape,--the judgment of public
opinion,--_a corporation who, under the authority of a charter which is
invalid in law_, hold a monopoly in commerce, and exercise _a despotism
in government, and have so used that monopoly and wielded that power as
to shut up the earth from the knowledge of man, and man from the
knowledge of God_."
With the statements and convictions of this English author before us, we
will add a statement of Sir James Douglas, given in answer to
interrogatory 11 in the case of Hudson's Bay Company's Claim v. United
States, to give the reader a better idea of the power and influence of
that company in Oregon, in 1846.
Sir James says: "The Honorable Hudson's Bay Company had fifty-five
officers and five hundred and thirteen articled men. The company having
a large, active, and experienced force of servants in their employ, and
holding establishments judiciously situated in the most favorable
portions for trade, forming, as it were, a net-work of posts aiding and
supporting each other, _possessed an extraordinary influence with the
natives_, and in 1846 practically enjoyed a monopoly of the fur trade in
the country west of the Rocky Mountains, north and south of the
forty-ninth parallel of latitude. The profits of their trade," says this
witness, "from 1841 to 1846 were at least seven thousand pounds sterling
annually."
The fifty-five officers and five hundred and thirteen articled men of
the company, with their eight hundred half-breeds, and the Indians they
could command by the judicious position of their respective posts, were
deemed by them sufficient security for their trade, and a substantial
reason why they should not give up the country without making another
direct effort to drive the missionary and American settlements from it,
notwithstanding all their pretension to join in the provisional
government organized by the pioneer Americans in 1843.
The reader is referred to the discussion on the liquor question between
Judge Sir James Douglas and Mr. Samuel Parker, as found in the tenth and
eleventh numbers, first volume, of the _Spectator_, published June 11
and 25, 1845, and in another chapter of this work, and requested to keep
all these facts before the mind, so as not to lose sight of the
commanding influence, or, in other words, the commander, when we enter
upon the preliminary and immediate causes of the Whitman massacre, and
the Indian war that followed.
We have before us the original depositions in reference to the facts
stated, and also the attempt to excuse the principal actors in that
horrible transaction, as given by Brouillet in justification of the
course pursued by the Jesuit missionaries.
We have also the superficial and bombastic report of J. Ross Browne,
special agent of the Treasury Department, dated December 4, 1857,
containing a copy of this Jesuit history of the murder of Dr. Whitman.
In his remarks previous to giving Brouillet's history, he says: "In view
of the fact, however, that objections might be made to any testimony
coming from the citizens of the Territories, and believing also that it
is the duty of a public agent to present, as far as practicable,
_unprejudiced statements_, I did not permit myself to be governed by any
representations unsupported by reliable historical data."----"The fact
also is shown that, as far back as 1835, the Indians west of the Rocky
Mountains protested against the taking away of their lands by the white
race. That this was one of the alleged causes of the murder of Dr.
Whitman and family."
There are sixty-six pages in this report. Twelve of them are Mr.
Browne's, one page of official acknowledgment, and fifty-three from the
parties implicated.
The statements of Mr. Browne, of Mr. Fitzgerald, and the oath of Mr.
Douglas, are sufficient to show the ignorance, stupidity, and falsehood
incorporated in his report, were there no other historical facts to
convict him of ignorance in allowing such representations to be made in
an official document. In the proper place we will bring this report into
our history, with both sides of the question.
Were we to express an opinion of Mr. J. Ross Browne's report, with our
personal knowledge of what he pretends to relate, we would say he
ignored the people, the country, and the government whose agent he
claimed to be, and was reporting for the special benefit of the Roman
religion and British government, as these are extensively quoted as
historical data from which his report and conclusions are drawn.
The reader will understand our main object to be to give a full history
of all influences and prominent transactions and events that have
occurred in Oregon from 1792 to 1849.
To understand cause and effect, and the true history of the country, we
have to examine the facts as connected with actions, and also to trace
back the history of the actors, in order to see how far they may be made
responsible for the result of their actions.
Oregon, from the time of its discovery, has been a field where all the
influences of which we are writing have been living, active influences;
and they are by no means inactive or dead at the present time. Some of
them are more active now than they were in 1836.
A full knowledge of the past will enable us to guard the present and the
future. Our English writer has gathered his facts and drawn his
conclusions in London. We, upon this, our western coast, are witnesses
of the cause and results of his conclusions, and any statement he makes
we feel ourselves abundantly able to corroborate or correct.
As we proceed with our history we shall have frequent occasion to quote
Mr. Fitzgerald, as the best English evidence, in favor of our American
statements or positions. Since writing the above we have noticed a
lengthy article in the Edinburgh _Westminster Review_ for July, 1867,
giving a concise history of the Hudson's Bay Company, under the heading,
"The Last Great Monopoly." In that article the author has shown
extensive historical knowledge of the operations and influences of that
monopoly in that portion of our continent over which they have held
exclusive control.
He regards them as a blight upon the country, and an "incubus" to be
removed by national legislation. If our work had been published, we
should conclude that he must have drawn many of his facts from our own
observations. But this is not the case; hence the value to us of his
corroboration of the facts we affirm from personal knowledge.
CHAPTER IV.
Care of Great Britain for her fur companies.--Columbia Fur
Company.--Astor's second fur company.--Major Pilcher's fur
company.--Loss of the ship _Isabel_.--Captain Bonneville's
expedition.--Cause of his failure.--Captain Wyeth's, 1832.--Indians
ask for missionaries in 1833.--Methodist Mission.--Fort Hall
established.--Fort Boise.
By reference to the act of the British Parliament of June 2, 1821, it
will be seen that the affairs of the North American British Fur
companies were in a fair way to defeat all British interests in America.
To suppress these feuds among their own people became a matter of
national importance and policy.
To accomplish so desirable an object, Parliament, in the act above
referred to, extended the civil and criminal jurisdiction of Canada over
all the territories of the Hudson's Bay Company; in the thirteenth
article of the act, and in the fourteenth, repealed all that was before
taken away from that company, and confirmed absolutely all the rights
supposed to have been given by the original charter, as follows:--
SECTION 14. "And be it further enacted, that nothing in this act
contained shall be taken or construed to affect any right or
privilege, authority or jurisdiction, which the governor and company
of adventurers trading to Hudson's Bay are by law entitled to claim
and exercise under their charter; but that all such rights,
privileges, authorities, and jurisdictions, shall remain in as full
force, virtue, and effect, as if this act had never been made; any
thing in this act to the contrary notwithstanding."
This act, however just it may have been considered, certainly embodied a
large amount of national prejudice against the people of French or
Canadian birth, in exempting the territory of the Hudson's Bay Company
from its influence. It had a twofold effect: the one, to check feuds
among British subjects; the other, to unite them in one vast Indian
monopoly,--to license this united company to go forward with their
Indian political arrangements unmolested,--to punish and dispose of all
intruders upon their supposed, or asserted rights, as they might deem
for the interest of their trade, which, according to the charter of
Charles II., bearing date May 2, 1670, they were "at all times hereafter
to be personable and capable in law, to have, purchase, receive,
possess, enjoy, and retain lands, rents, privileges, liberties,
jurisdiction, franchises, and hereditaments of what kind, nature, or
quality soever they be, to them and their successors."
The whole trade, fisheries, navigation, minerals, etc., of the
countries, are granted to the company exclusively; all other of the
king's subjects being forbidden to _visit_, _hunt_, _frequent_, _trade_,
_traffic_, or _adventure_ therein, under heavy penalties; and the
company is moreover empowered to send _ships_, and to build
_fortifications_ for the defense of its possessions, as well as to _make
war or peace with all nations or peoples_ not Christian, inhabiting
those territories, _which are declared to be hence-forth reckoned_ and
_reputed_ as one of _his Majesty's_ plantations or colonies in America,
called Rupert's Land.
It will be remembered that as early as 1818, a question arose between
the United States and Great Britain, as to which was the rightful owner
of the Oregon country. The Northwest Fur Company were the only subjects
of Great Britain that had competed with the American fur companies in
the discovery or trade of the country. To ignore that company altogether
would weaken the British claim to Oregon by right of prior discovery and
occupancy. Hence, by uniting the two companies under an ancient English
charter, combining their united capital and numerical strength,
discarding all doubtful subjects, and confirming the absolute power of
their own British company, they could easily secure Oregon as British
territory. The wisdom and effect of this policy will be developed as we
proceed.
By the third article of the convention between the United States and
Great Britain, signed October 20, 1818, "it is agreed that any country
that may be claimed by either party on the northwest coast of America,
westward of the Stony Mountains, shall, together with its harbors, bays,
and creeks, and the navigation of all rivers within the same, be free
and open for the term of ten years from the date of the signature of the
present convention, to the vessels, citizens, and subjects of the two
powers; it being well understood that this agreement is not to be
construed to the prejudice of any claim which either of the two high
contracting parties may have to any part of said country, nor shall it
be taken to affect the claims of any other power or state to any part of
the said country; the only object of the high contracting parties, in
that respect, being to prevent disputes and differences among
themselves."
This convention secured at that time the Northwest Fur Company's
existence in the country, by the act uniting the two British fur
companies three years later. In 1821, the privileges here secured were
transferred and confirmed to the Hudson's Bay Company, who at once took
the most active and efficient measures to guard against any future
competition, by assessing and setting apart ten per cent. on their
capital stock, which was counted at £200,000, as a sinking fund for the
special purpose of opposing all competition in the fur trade by land or
water.
The convention above referred to shows that Great Britain held a
watchful eye over her fur traders in this distant country; and the act
of her Parliament in 1821, that she was disposed, in a direct manner, to
secure to her own people, as traders, the absolute sovereignty of the
country. While Great Britain was protecting and strengthening her fur
traders in North America, the American government was simply asserting
its prior rights to the Oregon country, founded upon its discovery and
subsequent purchase in what is termed the Louisiana purchase, from
France; the treaties and conventions only serving to encourage and
strengthen the British claim, while they used their influence, capital,
and power against all American competition and settlement in the
country.
In 1821, as was to be expected by the union of the two great British fur
companies, under the license of the British Parliament, and absolute
charter of Charles II., many of the servants, and especially such as
were found favorable to the American fur traders, or violently opposed
to the Hudson's Bay Company, were thrown out of employment. They
naturally sought to continue their wild Indian trade and habits, and
formed a company under the name of the Columbia Fur Company, extending
their operations up the Mississippi, Missouri, and Yellowstone rivers.
In 1826, they transferred their interests to Astor's second North
American Fur Company, of which John Jacob Astor was the head. This
company appears to have been commenced or organized in connection with
Mr. W. H. Ashley, in 1823, and under his direction extended its trade to
the south and west, along the Platte River, and passed into the Rocky
Mountains as far as Green River, being the first to discover its
sources, making a successful trading expedition that year.
In 1824, another expedition under Mr. Ashley explored the Rocky
Mountains as far south as Salt Lake, and built a fort on the borders of
a small lake, to which he gave his own name. In 1826, Mr. Ashley
transported a 6-pound cannon to his establishment near Salt Lake,
through what has since been termed Fremont's, or the south pass of the
Rocky Mountains, in a wagon. This establishment had in its employ over
one hundred men, and was remarkably successful and profitable to the
partners.
In 1826, Mr. Ashley sold all his interest to the Rocky Mountain Fur
Company, composed of Smith, Jackson, and Subleth, who extended their
trade into California, and as far north as the Umpqua River, in Oregon;
where Smith and his party were met by a professedly friendly party of
Indians, who murdered his men, seized his furs, and delivered them to a
party of men sent by the Hudson's Bay Company, under Mr. John McLeod and
Thomas McKay, to receive the furs and pay the Indians for their
services--as learned by the writer from eye-witnesses.
During this same year, 1827, Major Pilcher, with forty-five men, crossed
the Rocky Mountains, and, in 1828-9, traversed the western portion of
them as far north as Fort Colville. This fort had been established, and
farming operations commenced, in 1825. This party of Major Pilcher were
all cut off but two men, besides himself; his furs, as stated by himself
to the writer, found their way into the forts of the Hudson's Bay
Company.
In 1828, the brig _Owyhee_, Captain Demenses, and the schooner _Cowrey_,
Captain Thompson, entered and remained nearly a year in the Columbia
River, trading with the Indians. They were owned in Boston.
In 1830, the British ship _Isabel_ was lost on Sand Island--the second
known to have been wrecked on the bar, or in attempting to enter the
river. The crew were all saved, and it was the opinion of the company at
Vancouver that, had the crew remained with the ship, no great loss would
have been sustained.
In 1832, Captain Bonneville, of the United States army, on furlough,
started, with over one hundred men, on an expedition into the Rocky
Mountains. He crossed the mountains, and reached the Wallawalla Valley,
on the Columbia River; but, through the influence of the Hudson's Bay
Company, his men were nearly all induced to leave him, so that he was
obliged to abandon his property, and his expedition was a total failure,
except the little scientific knowledge of the country gained by it.
To charge the failure of Captain Bonneville directly to the Hudson's Bay
Company would not be strictly true; but their great influence over the
Indians was sufficient to prevent them from furnishing his party with
food or horses, while he was within reach of their forts. Hence, many of
his men became dissatisfied, and left him, till his party became too
weak to effect their return to the States with their valuable furs and
property. These eventually were lost, or fell into the hands of the
Indians, and through them, his furs reached the Hudson's Bay traders'
establishments.
This same year, 1832, Captain Nathaniel Wyeth, of Massachusetts, started
on an exploring expedition to the mouth of the Columbia River, with a
view of establishing a permanent trade in the Oregon country. He
traveled across the continent and gathered all the information requisite
for the undertaking, and returned to Boston in 1833; and in 1834, having
completed his arrangements, chartered the brig _May Dacre_, and
dispatched her with his own, and the goods of the Methodist Mission, for
the Columbia River.
The same year, some Flathead Indians, from a tribe in the midst of the
Rocky Mountains, went to St. Louis, and, through Mr. Catlin, an American
artist, made known their object, which was to know something more of the
white man's God and religion. Through the representations of these
Indians, the Methodist Episcopal Society in the United States
established their missions in Oregon, and the American Board sent their
missionaries among the Nez Percés, which, as will be seen, was the
commencement of the permanent settlement of the country. It appears from
the facts, briefly stated, that there had been eleven different trading
expeditions and companies, besides the Northwest and Hudson's Bay
companies, that had sought for wealth by making fur-trading
establishments in Oregon. All of them, including the Northwest and
Hudson's Bay companies, have retired from it, but the American
missionaries are residents of the country, and their influence and
labors are felt, notwithstanding other influences have partially
supplanted and destroyed the good impressions first made upon the
natives of the country by them. Still civilization, education, and
religion, with all the improvements of the age, are progressing, and the
old pioneer missionaries and settlers that were contemporary with them,
with a few exceptions, are foremost in every laudable effort to benefit
the present and rising generation.
In the month of March, 1833, a Japanese junk was wrecked near Cape
Flattery, in the then Territory of Oregon, and all on board, except
three men, were lost. Those three were received by Captain McNeal on
board the British ship _Lama_; taken to Vancouver, and thence sent to
England. Rev. Mr. Parker gives this, and another similar wreck on the
Sandwich Islands, as evidence of the origin of the natives of those
countries. But we give it for another object. The three Japanese were
taken to England, and, during their stay, learned the English language,
were sent back to Macao, and became the assistant teachers of Mr.
Gutzlaff, the English missionary at that place, and were the means of
opening their _own_ country to missionary and commercial relations with
other nations.
Captain Wyeth, with Revs. Jason and Daniel Lee, Cyrus Shepard, and P. L.
Edwards, the first missionary party, together with Doctor Nutall, a
naturalist, and J. K. Townsend, an ornithologist, sent out by a literary
society in Philadelphia, all under the escort furnished by Captain
Wyeth, crossed the mountains and reached the plain formed by the
Portneuf and Snake rivers. At their junction Captain Wyeth stopped, and
established Fort Hall, while the missionaries and scientific men of his
party, in company with an Englishman by the name of Captain Stewart, and
a party of Hudson's Bay traders, under the direction of Mr. McLeod and
McKay, proceeded to Fort Nez Percés (present name, Wallula). Thence they
traveled in Hudson's Bay _bateaux_ to Vancouver.
Captain Wyeth established his post on the Snake River, by erecting a
stockade of logs, and quarters for his men, and then proceeded to the
lower Columbia to receive his goods, which arrived in the _May Dacre_,
Captain Lambert, from Boston, about the time he reached Fort William, on
what is now known as Sauvies Island, a few miles below the mouth of the
Multnomah River, now called the Wallamet.
Rev. Mr. Lee and party made their first location about sixty miles from
the mouth of the Wallamet, near what is now called Wheatland, ten miles
below Salem.
Captain Wyeth received his goods, and commenced his trading
establishment, but found that, notwithstanding he was personally treated
by the principal officers of the Hudson's Bay Company with great
courtesy, yet it was evident that every possible underhanded and
degrading device was practiced, both with the Indians and with his men,
to destroy, as much as was possible, the value and profits of his trade.
In the spring and summer of 1835 he supplied his Fort Hall establishment
with goods.
During the year 1835, the Hudson's Bay Company erected a temporary post
about twelve miles up the Boise River, designed to counteract and
destroy as much as possible the American fur trade established by
Captain Wyeth, who continued his efforts less than three years; and,
having lost of the two hundred men who had been in his employ _one
hundred and sixty_ (as stated to Rev. Samuel Parker), and finding
himself unable to compete with this powerful English company, he
accepted Dr. McLaughlin's offer for his establishments, and left the
country in 1836.
In 1835, the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions sent
Rev. Samuel Parker and Dr. Marcus Whitman to explore the Oregon country,
with a view of establishing missions among the Indians west of the Rocky
Mountains.
These two missionaries reached the American rendezvous on Green River,
in company with the Rocky Mountain Fur Company's traders, under the
direction of Captains Drips and Fitzpatrick. From the American
rendezvous Mr. Parker continued his explorations in company with, and
under the protection of the Nez Percé Indians, till he reached old Fort
Wallawalla, now called Wallula; thence he continued in canoes to
Vancouver, while Dr. Whitman returned to the United States to procure
associates to establish the Nez Percé mission.
CHAPTER V.
Extent and power of Hudson's Bay Company.--Number of
forts.--Location.--Policy.--Murder of Mr. Black.--McKay.--Manner of
dealing with Indians.--Commander of fort kills an
Indian.--Necessity of such a course.--Hudson's Bay Company not
responsible for what their servants do.
Having briefly traced the operations of the two foreign fur companies in
Oregon, a knowledge of the location of their several trading
establishments will enable the reader to comprehend their power and
influence in the country.
Fort Umpqua was located in the extreme southwestern part of Oregon, near
the mouth of the river bearing that name. It was a temporary stockade
built of logs, overlooking a small farm in its immediate vicinity, was
generally occupied by a clerk and from four to eight Frenchmen.
Fort George (Astoria) already described.
They had a farm and small establishment at the mouth of the Cowlitz, and
a more extensive farm some twenty-five miles up that river.
Fort Vancouver,--a stockade, six miles above the mouth of the Multnomah,
or Wallamet River. This fort was the general depot for the southwestern
department, at which their goods for Indian trade were landed, and their
furs and peltries collected and shipped to foreign markets. There was
also a trading-house at Champoeg, some thirty-five miles up the Wallamet
River.
On the left bank of the Columbia River, near the 46° of north latitude,
stood Fort Nez Percés, called Wallawalla, now Wallula,--a stockade,
accidentally burned in 1841, and rebuilt with adobes in 1841-2.
On the left bank of the south branch of the Columbia, or Snake River, at
the junction of the Boise, was located Fort Boise, built formerly, in
1834, with poles; later, with adobes.
Continuing up Snake River to the junction of the Portneuf, on its left
bank we find Fort Hall, built by Captain Wyeth; a stockade in 1834;
rebuilt by the Hudson's Bay Company, with adobes, in 1838.
Thence up the Columbia, Fort Okanagon, at the mouth of Okanagon River,
formerly a stockade, latterly a house or hut; and up the Spokan some
twenty miles, was the old Spokan Fort, built by Astor's Company, a
stockade with solid bastions.
Continuing up the Columbia to Kettle Falls, and two miles above, on the
left bank is Fort Colville, formerly a stockade, still occupied by the
Hudson's Bay Company.
Thence up the Columbia to the mouth of the Kootanie River, near the
forty-ninth parallel of latitude, is the trading establishment called
Kootanie House. Thence returning south, and ascending the Flathead
(Clark's) and Kootanie rivers, into what is now Montana Territory, is,
or was, the hut called Flathead House. Still higher up on the Columbia
was a small establishment, called the boat encampment, or Mountain
House.
Entering the country by the Straits of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound, we
find Fort Nasqualla, formerly a stockade. Proceeding up Frazer River to
near the forty-ninth parallel, upon the left or south bank of the river
is Fort Langley, an extensive stockade. Thence up that river about
ninety miles, half a mile below the mouth of the Coquehalla, is Fort
Hope, a stockade. On the right bank of the Frazer, sixteen miles above,
is Fort Yale, a trading-house.
Thence proceeding up the Frazer, and on to the waters of Thompson River,
is Fort Kamloops; still further north and east, extending into New
Caledonia, are Forts Alexander, William, Garey, and Abercrombie.
On the southeastern part of Vancouver Island is Fort Victoria, formerly
a stockade. On the north side of the island is Fort Rupert, a stockade,
still in good repair.
On the mainland, near Portland Channel, is Fort Simpson. At the mouth of
the Stiken River, on Dundas Island, was formerly Fort Wrangle, a
stockade. Recently the establishment has been removed some sixty miles
up the Stiken River, and called Fort Stiken.
This, as will be seen, gives the company twenty-three forts and five
trading-stations. In addition to these they had trading-parties
extending south to California, southeast to Fort Hall and into Utah and
Arizona, east into the Blackfoot country (Montana) and the Rocky
Mountains, and north into New Caledonia and along the northwestern
watershed of the Rocky Mountains.
They also had two steamers, the _Beaver_ and _Otter_, to enter all the
bays, harbors, rivers, and inlets along the western coast of our
country, from Mexico on the south, to Russian America on the north,
employing fifty-five officers and five hundred and thirteen articled
men, all bound, under the strictest articles of agreement, to subserve
the interests of that company under all circumstances; being strictly
forbidden to acquire any personal or real estate outside of their
stipulated pay as servants of the company, and were subject to such
punishment for deficiency of labor or neglect of duty as the officer in
charge might see fit to impose, having no appeal to any source for
redress, as the original charter of Charles II., confirmed by act of
Parliament in 1821, clearly conferred on the company absolute control
over the country they occupied, and all in it.
As a matter of romance and adventure, many statements are made of
conflicts with Indians and with wild animals, all terminating favorably
to the interests of the company, confirming and strengthening their
absolute power over all their opponents; but as they do not properly
belong to a work of this character, they will be omitted, except where
they may be brought to illustrate a fact, or to prove the principles and
policy of the company.
As in the case of Mr. Black, a chief trader at Fort Kamloops, who had
offended an Indian, the Indian disguised his resentment, entered the
fort as a friend, and while Mr. Black was passing from the room in which
the Indian had been received, he was deliberately shot by him, and fell
dead. The Indian fled, and the fort was closed against the tribe. Not a
single article of trade or supplies was allowed to the tribe till the
murderer was given up, and hung by the company's men, when the fort was
opened and trade resumed.
In another case, near the mouth of the Columbia, a trader by the name of
McKay was killed in a drunken row with the Indians at a salmon fishery.
A friendly Indian gave information at head-quarters, when an expedition
was fitted out and sent to the Indian camp. The murderer, with a few
other Indians, was found in a canoe, but escaped to shore. They were
fired at, and one woman was killed and others wounded. Dr. McLaughlin,
being in command of the party, informed the Indians that if the murderer
was not soon given up, he would punish the tribe. They soon placed the
murderer in the hands of the party, who were satisfied of the guilt of
the Indian, and at once hung him, as an example of the punishment that
would be inflicted upon murderers of white men belonging to the company.
One other instance of daring and summary punishment is related as having
been inflicted by Mr. Douglas, while in charge of a fort in the midst of
a powerful tribe of Indians. A principal chief had killed one of the
company's men. Mr. Douglas, learning that he was in a lodge not far from
the fort, boasting of his murderous exploit, armed himself, went to the
lodge, identified the murdering chief, and shot him dead; then walked
deliberately back to the fort.
A compliance with licensed parliamentary stipulations would have
required the arrest of the murderers in all these cases, and the
testimony and criminals to be sent to Canada for conviction and
execution.
These cases illustrate, whether just or otherwise, the absolute manner
of dealing with Indians by the company. The following chapter gives us
the particulars of an aggravated case of brutal murder of the person in
charge of one of their extreme northwestern forts by the men under his
charge.
CHAPTER VI
Murder of John McLaughlin, Jr.--Investigation by Sir George Simpson
and Sir James Douglas.
Very different was the course pursued by Sir George Simpson and Mr. (now
Sir James) Douglas in the case of conspiracy and murder of John
McLaughlin, Jr., at Fort Wrangle, near the southern boundary of Russian
America.
In this case, Sir George Simpson went into a partial examination of the
parties implicated, and reported that Dr. John McLaughlin, Jr., was
killed by the men in self-defense. This report, from the known hostility
of Sir George to the father and son, was not satisfactory, and Esquire
Douglas was dispatched to Fort Wrangle, and procured the following
testimony, which, in justice to the murdered man and the now deceased
father, we will quote as copied from the original documents by Rev. G.
Hines.
Pierre Kanaquassee, one of the men employed in the establishment at the
time of the murder, and in whose testimony the gentlemen of the company
place the utmost reliance, gives the following narrative, in answer to
questions proposed by James Douglas, Esq., the magistrate that examined
him:--
Q. Where were you on the night of the murder of the late Mr. John
McLaughlin?
A. I was in my room, in the lower part of the main house, where I lived
with George Heron, in an apartment in the lower story, immediately under
the kitchen. My door opened into the passage which led to the apartment
of Mr. John McLaughlin in the second story.
Q. What occurred on the night of the murder?
A. I will tell you the whole story, to the best of my recollection.
A few days preceding the murder, five Indians from Tako, with letters
from Dr. Kennedy, arrived at the fort about midnight. The watchmen,
hearing the knocking, called Mr. John. When he got up, he mustered a few
hands to defend the gates, in case of any treacherous attack from the
Indians, whom they did not, as yet, know. They were then admitted into
the fort, delivered up their arms, according to custom, and were lodged
in a small room in the lower story of the main house. A day or two after
this, he beat, and put one of these Indians, a native of Nop, in irons,
as Peter was told, for having committed some theft in Tako. About eight
o'clock of the evening of the 20th of April, Mr. John gave liquor to the
Indians, and made them drunk; after which he called the white men, viz.,
Laperti, Pripe, Lulaire, Heroux, Bellinger, Simon, Fleury, McPherson,
Smith, and Antoine Kawanope. During this time, Peter was in his own,
which was the adjoining room, lying awake in bed, and overheard all that
passed. He heard Mr. John say to McPherson, "Peter is not among us.
Where is he?" McPherson replied, that he was in bed, and he was sent for
him by Mr. John. Peter, in consequence, went into the room, and saw all
the men seated in a ring, on the floor, around a number of bottles
standing within the ring, and the Indians lying dead drunk on another
part of the floor, Mr. John himself was standing outside of the ring,
and McPherson placed himself on the opposite side of the ring; neither
of them appeared to be partaking of the festivities of the evening but
were looking on, and forcing the people to drink. Antoine Kawanope was
seated on his bed, apart from the other men, perfectly sober, as he told
Peter afterward. Mr. John had ordered him not to drink, observing, "You
are not to drink at this time, as I am going to die to-night, and you
will help me in what I am going to do." On entering the room, Mr. John
told Peter to sit down with the other people, and ordered his servant,
Fleury, to give him a good dram, which he did, in a tin pan. Peter could
not drink the whole, and was threatened by Mr. John with violence if he
did not finish it. He succeeded in emptying the pan, by allowing the
liquor to run into the bosom of his shirt. Mr. John, in doing this, did
not appear to be angry, but in a half-playful mood. Peter remained there
about a quarter of an hour, during which time he was careful not to
drink too much, as a few hours previously Antoine had called at his room
and said, "My uncle, take care of yourself to-night; the master is going
to die." Peter said, "Who is going to kill him?" and Antoine said, "The
Bluemen," meaning the Kanakas, "are going to kill him." This, Peter
thought, was likely to be the case, as the men, some time before
Christmas preceding, had agreed among themselves to murder him, and had
signed a paper, which McPherson drew up, to that effect. Every one of
the men of the place agreed to the commission of this deed, Smith and
Heron as well as the others. Peter's name was signed by McPherson, and
he attested it by his cross. This paper was signed in Urbaine's house,
where the men severally repaired by stealth for the purpose, as Mr. John
kept so vigilant a watch upon them, that they were afraid he might
suspect their intentions if they were there in a body. The same
impression made him also remark, in a low tone of voice, to Laperti, on
his first entering the room, when he observed Mr. John forcing the
people to drink, "I really believe our master feels his end near, as he
never used to act in this manner." As above mentioned, after Peter had
been about fifteen minutes in the room where the men were drinking, Mr.
John retired, followed by Antoine. Mr. John had not on that occasion
drank any thing with the men, neither did he (Peter) ever see him, at
any time preceding, drink in their company. He, however, supposed that
he must have taken something in his own room, as he appeared flushed and
excited, but not sufficiently so as to render his gait in the least
unsteady. McPherson also did not taste any thing in the room. As soon as
Mr. John was gone, Peter also left the room, and went to bed in his own
room.
Peter was informed by Antoine that Mr. John, on leaving the room where
the men were drinking, went up-stairs to his own apartment, and he heard
him say to his wife, "I am going to die to-night." And he and his wife
both began to cry. Mr. John soon rallied, and observed, "Very well; if I
die, I must fall like a man." He then told Antoine to load his rifles
and pistols, and ordered him also to arm himself with his own gun. He
and Antoine then went out, and Peter thinks he heard the report of more
than fifteen shots. Antoine afterward told Peter that Mr. John fired at
Laperti, but missed him, and afterward ordered Antoine to fire at
Laperti. Antoine refused to do so, until his own life was threatened by
Mr. John, when he fired in the direction, without aiming at Laperti. He
also told the Kanakas to kill the Canadians, and it was in part they who
fired the shots that he (Peter) had heard. Peter then got up and placed
himself behind his door, and saw Mr. John come in and go up-stairs with
Antoine, when he took the opportunity of going out, armed with his gun
and a stout bludgeon, and found the men standing here and there on the
gallery watching an opportunity to shoot Mr. John. Laperti's position on
the gallery was fronting the door of the main house, toward which he had
his gun pointed; when Peter saw him, he was on his knees, the small end
of the gun resting on the top rail of the gallery, in readiness to fire.
Laperti exclaimed, on seeing Peter, "I must kill him now, as he has
fired two shots at me." Peter objected to this, and proposed to take and
tie him. Nobody answered him. At that moment, Smith came up to Laperti
and told him to hide himself or he would certainly be killed. Laperti
said, "Where can I hide myself?" and Smith said, "Come with me and I
will show you a place in the bastion where you can hide yourself," and
they went off together in the direction of the bastion at the corner of
Urbaine's house. Peter, after a few minutes' stay on the gallery,
returned to his house, as he had previously agreed upon with George
Hebram, who was lying sick in bed, and who had entreated him not to
leave him alone. At the door of the main house, he met Mr. John coming
out, followed by Antoine, who was carrying a lamp. Mr. John said to
Peter, "Have you seen Laperti?" Peter answered, "No, I have not seen
him;" and then Mr. John said, "Have you seen Urbaine?" And Peter again
answered that he had not. The minute before this, as he (Peter) was
returning from the gallery, he had seen Urbaine standing at the corner
of the main house, next to Urbaine's own dwelling, in company with
Simon. Urbaine said, "I don't know what to do; I have no gun, and do not
know where to hide myself." Simon said, "I have a gun, if he comes I
will shoot him, and will be safe." Mr. John, after Peter passed him,
said to Antoine, "Make haste, and come with the lamp," and proceeded
with a firm step to Urbaine's house, as Peter, who continued watching at
the door, saw.
After he saw them go to Urbaine's house, he proceeded toward his own
room, and he and Antoine called out, "Fire! fire!" The report of several
shots, probably five, immediately followed, and he heard Antoine
exclaiming, "Stop! stop! stop! He is dead now." Antoine afterward
related to Peter, that on reaching Urbaine's house, Mr. John ordered him
to go round by one corner, while he went round by the other, directing
Antoine to shoot any of the Canadians he might meet. Mr. John then
proceeded in a stooping position, looking very intently before him, when
a shot was fired from the corner of the house toward which he was going,
which caused his death, the ball having entered at the upper part of the
breast-bone, a little below the gullet, and come out a little below the
shoulder, having broken the spine in its passage. Peter was also told by
one of the Kanakas, that as soon as Mr. John fell, Urbaine sprung
forward from the corner of the house within a few paces of the body, and
put his foot savagely on his neck, as if to complete the act, should the
ball have failed in causing death. The Kanakas immediately asked Urbaine
who had killed the master. Urbaine replied, "It is none of your business
who has killed him!" Peter, who during this time had removed to his
house, seeing Heron go out without his gun, went out round the body, and
said, "My friend, we have now done what we long intended to do; let us
now carry the body back to the house." Urbaine, Laperti, Bellinger, and
other white men who were present replied, "When we kill a dog, we let
him lie where we kill him." And Antoine told him they had previously
given him the same reply to a similar proposition from him. Peter then
approached the body, and, with one hand under the neck, raised the head
and trunk, when a deep expiration followed, which was the last sign of
animation. He had previously perceived no signs of life, nor did he hear
any one say that any appeared after the deceased fell. The white men
being unwilling to assist him, he carried the body, with the aid of the
Kanakas, into the main house, where he had it stripped, washed clean,
decently dressed, and laid out. In doing so he received no help from any
but the Kanakas. The wounds made by the balls were very large, both
openings being circular, and severally three inches in diameter. The
body bled profusely, there being a deep pool of blood found around it,
which was washed away afterward by the Kanakas. Peter never heard that
he spoke or moved after he fell. There was a perpendicular cut on the
forehead, skin-deep, in a line with the nose, which Peter thinks was
caused by his falling on the barrel of his rifle, though Urbaine said
that he had received it from an Indian with his dog. It was, as Peter
supposes, about eleven o'clock, P.M., when he had done washing and
laying out the body; the watches had not then been changed, therefore he
thinks it could not be midnight. The people continued coming and going
during the night, to see the body, and Peter proposed praying over the
body, as is customary in Canada; but they objected, saying they did not
wish to pray for him. He did sit up with the body all night, having soon
after gone, first to Urbaine's and then to Lulaire's house, who each
gave him a dram, which he took, saying, "There is no need of drinking
now; they might drink their fill now." He soon afterward went to bed.
He inquired of Martineau, who also lived in the same room, if he had
fired at the deceased. He replied, that he had fired twice. He then
asked him if it was he that had killed him, and he said, "I do not know
if it was me or not." He (Peter) put the same question to several of the
other men whom he saw afterward; they all said that they had not shot
him, and Martineau afterward said that he had not directed his gun at
him, but had fired in the air.
The following morning he asked Antoine Kawanope if he knew who had
killed the deceased. He replied, "I know who killed him, but I am not
going to tell you, or any one else. When the governor comes, I will tell
him." He asked Antoine why he would not tell; he said he was afraid it
might cause more quarrels, and lead to other murders. He then advised
Antoine not to conceal it from him, as he would tell no one. Antoine
then said, he thought it was Urbaine who had done the deed. Peter
observed that Urbaine had no gun. Antoine replied, "I think it was
Urbaine, because as soon as the deceased fell, Urbaine rushed out from
his lurking-place at the corner of the house, where, I was informed by
the people, he always kept his gun secreted, with the intention of
shooting the deceased." Peter says Laperti, Urbaine, and Simon were all
concealed in the corner whence the shot came, and he thinks it to be one
of the three who fired it. Urbaine always denied having committed the
murder, and said, "I am going to the Russian fort for trial, and will
be either banished or hung. I will let the thing go to the end, and will
then inform upon the murderers."
Simon always said that he was never in the corner from whence the shot
was fired, and knew nothing about the matter; but Peter thinks that he
must have been there, as he saw him, as before related, at the corner of
the main house, when he promised to protect Urbaine; and from the
situation of the fort, he must have passed that spot with Urbaine, as
there was no other passage from the place where they had been standing.
Laperti also said he never fired at all. When Peter, as before related,
went upon the gallery after the first firing had ceased, while Mr. John
and Antoine had gone into the house, he saw all the men on the gallery,
except Pripe, Lulaire, and McPherson, and he asked each of them,
respectively, if they were going to shoot the master that night, and
they all answered (as well as himself), they would do so at the first
chance, except Pehou, a Kanaka, who would not consent to the murder.
Smith was then without a gun.
Before the Christmas preceding, Peter put the question to Smith, how he
should like to see him kill Mr. John? He replied, "I should like it very
well; I would have no objection, because his conduct is so very bad that
he can never expect to be protected by the company." Peter Manifree says
that Mr. John appeared to be aware of the plot formed by the men against
his life; as he supposes, through the information of Fleury, his
servant, who was aware of every thing that passed among them. Mr. John
had often said to the men, "Kill me, if you can. If you kill me, you
will not kill a woman--you will kill a man." And he kept Antoine as a
sentinel to watch his room. One evening George Heron proposed taking his
life, and said if he could find a man to go with him, he would be the
first to shoot him. Peter refused to go, and Heron watched a great part
of the night in the passage leading to Mr. John's room, holding his gun
pointed toward its door, with the object of shooting Mr. John if he
appeared, as he usually did at night when going to visit the watchmen;
but he did not go out that night, or Peter thinks that he would have
been shot by Heron. The following morning Peter asked Antoine if he
would defend Mr. John were he attacked by the people. Antoine said he
would not, and would be the first man to seize or shoot him, should any
attempt be made against his life or liberty. He put the same question to
McPherson; but McPherson said, "No, do not kill him till the governor
comes, by and by, and then we shall have redress."
Peter also says that all the unmarried men were in the habit of secretly
going out of the fort at night, contrary to order, to visit the Indian
camp, and that one evening, when he wished to go out, he met George
Heron on the gallery, who showed him where a rope was slung to the
picket, by which he might let himself down to the ground outside of the
fort, saying, "This is the way I and others get out, and you may do the
same without fear of detection." On the morning after the murder he went
into Urbaine's and Lulaire's house and got a dram in each of them, out
of two bottles of rum which he saw there. He said, "Now Mr. John is
dead, I shall go out of the fort and spend the day with my wife."
Urbaine replied, "No: no one shall go out of the fort. We keep the keys,
and we shall keep the gates shut." Peter was angry at this, and said to
Antoine, "When Mr. John was alive, he kept us prisoners, and would not
allow us to run after women; and now that we have killed him, the
Canadians wish to keep us as close as he did. I see we must raise the
devil again with these Canadians, before we can get our liberty."
Peter also says that one principal cause of their dislike to John, and
their plots against his life, was the strictness with which he prevented
their sallying from the fort in quest of women; that he flogged
Martineau for having given his blanket to a woman with whom he
maintained illicit commerce, and he also flogged Lamb and Kakepe for
giving away their clothes in the same manner. This, Peter says,
exasperated the men.
The day after the murder many of the men went up to Mr. John's room to
see the body, and McPherson remarked to them, that when the master was
living they were not in the habit of coming up there; but they did so
now that he was dead. On hearing this, Peter and Urbaine went away and
never returned. On their way to their own house, they met Pripe and
Bellinger.
Urbaine told them what McPherson had said, and in a threatening manner
said, "McPherson is getting as proud as the other, and will be telling
tales about us. We will not murder him, but we will give him a sound
thrashing." And Peter says that he soon after went to Smith and told him
to put McPherson on his guard, as the Canadians intended to attack him.
Smith asked Peter what he would do, now the master was dead, and Peter
said he would obey McPherson's orders. Smith replied, "That is good,
Peter. If we do not do so, we shall lose all our wages." All the
Canadians, and, he thinks, Simon, continued drinking the whole of the
day following the murder; the other men of the fort did not drink. He
thinks it was the remains of the liquor they had been drinking the
preceding night. Peter also says that, for a month previous to the
murder, Urbaine, Laperti, and Simon, were in the habit of getting drunk
every night on rum purchased from the Indians. Peter told them to take
care of themselves, because Mr. John would be angry if he knew it. Mr.
John took no notice of their conduct, because, as Peter thinks, he knew
of the plot against his life, and felt intimidated. He also says that
Laperti was excited against Mr. John on account of a suspected intrigue
which he carried on with his wife. The night following the murder, they
all went to bed quietly. The next day all was also quiet, and all work
suspended, except watching the Indians, which they did very closely, as
they were afraid they might be induced to attack the fort, on learning
that the master was no more. They continued watching, turn about. The
second day a coffin was made, and the corpse removed from the main house
to the bath, when McPherson gave the men a dram. The third day the
corpse was buried and the men had another dram. He does not know whether
the men asked for the dram, or whether McPherson gave it of his own
accord. The corpse was carried to the grave by Laperti, Pripe, Lulaire,
and some Kanakas, but Urbaine did not touch it; does not think it was
through fear. Peter often heard Laperti say, "I wish the governor was
here, to see what he would do." He also says there was no quarrel in the
room where they were drinking on the night of the murder; but he thinks
there might have been a quarrel after they left, as Pripe was put in
irons after that time. He also says that the Canadians must have fixed
on that night to murder him, and that Fleury told him so, which accounts
for his apparent dejection of mind, and of his having shed tears in
presence of his wife and Antoine, when he said, "I know that I am going
to die this night." He also thinks this might have led to the outbreak,
but of this he is not sure. It is a mere matter of opinion. Mr. John was
a little in liquor, but knew perfectly well what he was about. He never
saw him so far gone with liquor as not to be able to walk actively
about, except on one occasion, the preceding Christmas Eve, when he
appeared to walk unsteady, but nevertheless could mount the gallery.
They only knew he had tasted liquor from the excitement and changed
appearance of his countenance. He does not know who first suggested the
idea of murdering Mr. John.
Since the above disclosures were made, a few other facts have come to
light, which, however, do not materially affect the character of these
atrocities. Mr. John McLaughlin, Jr., was doubtless intemperate,
reckless, and tyrannical, and often unnecessarily cruel in the
punishments inflicted upon his men; but he was surrounded by a set of
desperadoes, who, for months before the arrival of the night, during the
darkness of which the fatal shot ushered him into the presence of his
Judge, had been seeking an opportunity to rob him of life. Some time
before this event, he flogged Peter for the crime of stealing fish.
Peter was exceedingly angry, and resolved upon the destruction of his
master. At a time to suit his purpose, he went to the bastion, where
were fire-arms, loaded to his hands, and rung the bell of alarm, with
the intention of shooting Mr. McLaughlin when he should make his
appearance. A man by the name of Perse came out to see what was the
matter, instead of the intended victim, when Peter fired, but missed
him, the ball hitting a post near his head. For this offense, Peter was
again seized, put in irons, and subsequently severely flogged, and
liberated. Nearly all the men had been flogged from time to time, for
various offenses, and all conspired against the life of their master. As
might have been expected, when the case was examined by Sir George
Simpson, the murderers attempted to cast all the odium upon Mr.
McLaughlin, doubtless for the purpose of exculpating themselves, in
which attempt they but too well succeeded, in the estimation of Sir
George. Whether the persons who procured his death would be pronounced,
by an intelligent jury, guilty of willful murder, or whether, from the
mitigating circumstances connected with these transactions, the verdict
should assume a more modified form, is not for me to determine. But it
can not be denied by any one, that the circumstances must be indeed
extraordinary that will justify any man, or set of men, to cut short the
probation of an immortal being, and usher him, with all his unrepented
sins, into the presence of his God.
This account illustrates English and Hudson's Bay Company's dealings
with Indians, and their treatment of men and murderers, both among the
Indians and their own people.
We are forced to acknowledge that we can not see the correctness of
moral principle in Mr. Hine's conclusions. There was unquestionably a
premeditated and willful murder committed by the men at that fort. We
can understand the motives of Sir George Simpson and Mr. Douglas, in
allowing those men to escape the penalty of their crime, from the amount
of pecuniary interests involved, and the personal jealousy existing
against Dr. McLaughlin and his sons, in the company's service. We know
of jealousies existing between Mr. Simpson and John McLaughlin, Jr., on
account of statements made in our presence at the breakfast-table, that
were only settled temporarily, while at Vancouver. These statements, and
the placing of this young son of the doctor's at that post, we are
satisfied had their influence in acquitting his murderers, if they did
not in bringing about the murder, which to us appears plain in the
testimony; and we so expressed our opinion, when the father requested us
(while in his office) to examine a copy of those depositions. We have no
hesitancy in saying, that we believe it to have been a malicious murder,
and should have sent the perpetrators to the gallows. We have never been
able to learn of the trial of any one implicated.
CHAPTER VII.
Treatment of Indians.--Influence of Hudson's Bay Company.--Rev. Mr.
Barnley's statement.--First three years.--After that.--Treatment of
Jesuits.--Of Protestants.--Of Indians.--Not a spade to commence
their new mode of life.--Mr. Barnley's
statement.--Disappointed.--His mistake.--Hudson's Bay Company
disposed to crush their own missionaries.
Rev. Mr. Beaver says of them: "About the middle of the summer of 1836,
and shortly before my arrival at Fort Vancouver, six Indians were
wantonly and gratuitously murdered by a party of trappers and sailors,
who landed for the purpose from one of the company's vessels, on the
coast somewhere between the mouth of the river Columbia and the confines
of California. Having on a former occasion read the particulars of this
horrid massacre, as I received them from an eye-witness, before a
meeting of the Aborigines Society, I will not repeat them. To my certain
knowledge, the circumstance was brought officially before the
authorities of Vancouver, by whom no notice was taken of it; and the
same party of trappers, with the same leader, one of the most infamous
murderers of a murderous fraternity, are annually sent to the same
vicinity, to perform, if they please, other equally tragic scenes. God
alone knows how many red men's lives have been sacrificed by them since
the time of which I have been speaking. _He also knows that I speak the
conviction of my mind, and may he forgive me if I speak unadvisedly when
I state my firm belief that_ THE LIFE OF AN INDIAN WAS NEVER YET, BY A
TRAPPER, PUT IN COMPETITION WITH A BEAVER'S SKIN."
One other case we will give to illustrate the conduct and treatment of
this company toward the Indians under their "_mild and paternal care_,"
as given, not by a chaplain, or missionary, but by Lieut. Chappel, in
his "Voyage to Hudson's Bay in H. M. S. _Rosamond_." He relates that on
one occasion, an English boy having been missed from one of the
establishments in Hudson's Bay, the company's servants, in order to
recover the absent youth, made use of the following stratagem:--
"Two Esquimaux Indians were seized and confined in separate apartments.
A musket was discharged in a remote apartment, and the settlers,
entering the room in which one of the Esquimaux was confined, informed
him by signs that his companion had been put to death for decoying away
the boy; and they gave him to understand at the same time that he must
prepare to undergo the same fate, unless he would faithfully pledge
himself to restore the absentee. The Esquimaux naturally promised every
thing, and, on being set at liberty, made the best of his way into the
woods, and, of course, was never afterward heard of. They kept the other
a prisoner for some time. At length he tried to make his escape by
boldly seizing the sentinel's fire-lock at night; but the piece going
off accidentally, he was so terrified at the report, that they easily
replaced him in confinement; yet either the loss of liberty, a
supposition that his countryman had been murdered, or that he was
himself reserved for some cruel death, deprived the poor wretch of
reason. As he became exceedingly troublesome, the settlers held a
conference as to the most eligible mode of getting rid of him; _and it
being deemed good policy to deter the natives from similar offenses by
making an example, they accordingly shot the poor maniac in cold blood_,
without having given themselves the trouble to ascertain whether he was
really guilty or innocent" (p. 156). We have quoted these two examples,
from two British subjects, to show the Hudson's Bay Company's manner of
treating the Indians, who were under their absolute control from the
mouth of the Umpqua River, in the extreme southwestern part of Oregon,
to the extreme northern point on the coast of Labrador, including a
country larger in extent than the whole United States.
This country had for two hundred and thirty years been in possession of
these two powerful and equally unprincipled companies, who had kept it,
as Mr. Fitzgerald says, "_so us to shut up the earth from the knowledge
of man, and man from the knowledge of God_."
But, we are asked, what has this to do with the history of Oregon, and
its early settlement? We answer, it was this influence, and this
overgrown combination of iniquity and despotism--this monster monopoly,
which England and America combined had failed to overcome,--that was at
last, after a conflict of thirty years, forced to retire from the
country, by the measures first inaugurated by Lee, Whitman, and the
provisional government of Oregon; and now this same monopoly seeks to
rob the treasury of our nation, as it has for ages robbed the Indians,
and the country of its furs.
They may succeed (as they have heretofore, in obtaining an extension of
their licensed privileges with the English government), and obtain from
the American government what they now, by falsehood, fraud, and perjury,
claim to be their just rights. If they do, we shall be satisfied that we
have faithfully and truly stated facts that have come to our knowledge
while moving and living in the midst of their operations, and that we
are not alone in our belief and knowledge of the events and influences
of which we write.
Before closing this chapter we will quote one other witness (a British
subject), the Rev. Mr. Barnley, a missionary at Moose Factory, on the
southwestern part of James Bay, to show the full policy of that company
toward British missionaries, and also to prove the assertion we make
that the Hudson's Bay Company, as such, is, in a measure, guilty of and
responsible for the Whitman and Frazer River massacres, and for the
Indian wars and the murder of American citizens contiguous to their
territory.
The missionary above referred to says: "My residence in the Hudson's Bay
territory commenced in June, 1840, and continued, with the interruption
of about eight months, until September, 1847." The Whitman massacre was
in November, 1847. Mr. Barnley continues: "My letter of introduction,
signed by the governor of the territory, and addressed 'To the Gentlemen
in charge of the Honorable Hudson's Bay Company's Districts and Posts in
North America,' in one of its paragraphs ran thus: 'The governor and
committee feel the most lively interest in the success of Mr. Barnley's
mission, and I have to request you will show to that gentleman every
personal kindness and attention in your power, and facilitate by every
means the promotion of the very important and interesting service on
which he is about to enter;' and, consequently, whatsoever else I might
have to endure, I had no reason to anticipate any thing but cordial
co-operation from the officers of the company.
"_For the first three years_ I had no cause of complaint. The
interpretation was, in many cases, necessarily inefficient, and would
have been sometimes a total failure, but for the kindness of the wives
of the gentlemen in charge, who officiated for me; but I had the best
interpreters the various posts afforded, the _supply of rum_ to Indians
was restricted, and the company, I believe, fulfilled both the spirit
and the letter of their agreement with us, as far as that fulfillment
was then required of them, and their circumstances allowed.
"In giving, however, this favorable testimony, so far as the first three
years are concerned, I must say, that in my opinion we should have been
informed, before commencing our labors, that the interpreters at some of
the posts would be found so inefficient as to leave us dependent on the
kindness of private individuals, and reduce us to the very unpleasant
necessity of taking mothers from their family duties, that they might
become the only available medium for the communication of Divine truth.
"But after the period to which I have referred, a very perceptible
change, _i.e._, in 1845, took place. [The company had decided to
introduce the Roman Jesuits to aid them in expelling all Protestant
missionaries and civilization from the Indian tribes.] There was no
longer that hearty concurrence with my views, and co-operation, which
had at first appeared so generally. The effect was as if the gentleman
in charge of the southern department had discovered that he was expected
to afford rather an external and professed assistance than a real and
cordial one; and, under his influence, others, both of the gentlemen and
servants, became cool and reluctant in those services of which I stood
in need, until at length the letter as well us the spirit of the
company's engagement with me failed." The reader will remember that
while Mr. Barnley was receiving this treatment at the Hudson's Bay
Company's establishment at Moose Factory, James Douglas and his
associates were combining and training the Indians in Oregon for the
purpose of relieving, or, to use the language of the Jesuit De Smet, "to
rescue Oregon from Protestant and American influence."
Mr. Barnley continues: "I was prohibited from entertaining to tea two
persons, members of my congregation, who were about to sail for England,
because I happened to occupy apartments in the officer's residence, and
was told that it could not be made a rendezvous for the company's
servants and their families." P. J. De Smet, S. J., on the 113th page of
his book, says: "_The Canadian-French and half-breeds who inhabit the
Indian territory treat all the priests who visit them with great
kindness and respect._" On page 313, he says of the Hudson's Bay
Company, just about this time: "In what manner can we testify our
gratitude in regard to the two benefactors [Douglas and Ogden] who so
generously charged themselves with the care of _transporting and
delivering_ to us our cases, without consenting to accept the slightest
recompense?--How noble the sentiments which prompted them gratuitously
to burden themselves and their boats with the charitable gifts destined
by the faithful to the destitute missionaries of the Indians!" These
last quotations are from letters of Jesuit missionaries, who were
brought to the Indian country by this same Hudson's Bay Company, and
furnished transportation and every possible facility to carry on their
missions among the Indians all over the American Indian country.
These missionaries have made no attempt to improve the condition of the
Indians, but have impressed upon their ignorant minds a reverence for
themselves and their superstitions. See Bishop Blanchet's reply to
Cayuse Indians, November 4, 1847, page 44 of Brouillet's "Protestantism
in Oregon;" also pages 34-5, Executive Doc. No. 38, J. Ross Browne, as
given below:--
"The bishop replied that it was the pope who had sent him; that he
had not sent him to take their land, but only for the purpose of
saving their souls; that, however, having to live, and possessing no
wealth, he had asked of them a piece of land that he could cultivate
for his support; that in his country it was the faithful who
maintained the priests, but that here he did not ask so much, _but
only a piece of land_, and that the priests themselves would do the
rest. He told them that he would not make presents to Indians, that
he would give them nothing for the land he asked; that, in case they
worked for him, he would pay them for their work, and no more; that
he would assist them neither in plowing their lands nor in building
houses, nor would he feed or clothe their children," etc.
At Moose Factory, Mr. Barnley says: "A plan which I had devised for
educating and training to some acquaintance with _agriculture_ native
children _was disallowed_, but permission was given me by the governor
in council to collect seven or eight boys from various parts of the
surrounding country, to be clothed, and at the company's expense. A
proposal made for forming a small Indian village near Moose Factory _was
not acceded to_; and, instead, permission only given to attempt the
location of one or two old men who were no longer fit for engaging in
the chase, _it being very carefully and distinctly stated by Sir George
Simpson that the company would not give them even a spade toward
commencing their new mode of life_. When at length a young man was found
likely to prove serviceable as an interpreter, every impediment was
interposed to prevent his engaging in my service, although a distinct
understanding existed that neither for food nor wages would he be
chargeable to the company. And the pledge that I should be at liberty to
train up several boys for future usefulness, though not withdrawn, was
treated as if it had never existed at all; efforts being made to produce
the impression on the mind of my general superintendent that I was, most
unwarrantably, expecting the company to depart from their original
compact, when I attempted to add but two of the stipulated number to my
household.----
"At Moose Factory, where the resources were most ample, and where
was the seat of authority in the southern department of Rupert's
Land, the hostility of the company (and not merely their inability
to aid me, whether with convenience or inconvenience to themselves)
was most manifest.
"The Indians were compelled, in opposition to their convictions and
desires, to labor on the Lord's day. They were not permitted to
purchase the food required on the Sabbath, that they might rest on
that day while voyaging, although there was no necessity for their
proceeding, and their wages would have remained the same.----
"At length, _disappointed, persecuted, myself and wife broken in
spirit_, and almost ruined in constitution by months of anxiety and
suffering, a return to England became the only means of escaping a
premature grave; and we are happy in fleeing from the _iron hand of
oppression_, and bidding farewell to that which had proved to us a
land of darkness and of sorrow.
"From the above statements you will perceive that if true in some
cases, it is not all, that the company have furnished the 'means of
conveyance from place to place.' They have not done so, at all
events, in the particular case mentioned, nor would they let me have
the canoe, lying idle as it was, when they knew that I was prepared
to meet 'the expense.'
"And equally far from the truth is it, that the missionaries have
been '_boarded, lodged, provided with interpreters and servants free
of charge_.'"
In this last statement, Mr. Barnley is mistaken, for, to our certain
knowledge, and according to the voluntary statement of the Roman
Jesuits, Revs. Bishop Blanchet, Demer, P. J. De Smet, Brouillet, and
many other Jesuit missionaries, they received from the Hudson's Bay
Company _board and lodging, and were provided with interpreters_,
catechist, transportation, and even houses and church buildings.
The only mistake of Mr. Barnley was, that he was either an Episcopal or
Wesleyan missionary or chaplain, like Mr. Beaver, at Fort Vancouver, and
he, like Mr. Beaver, was a little too conscientious as to his duties,
and efforts to benefit the Indians, to suit the policy of that company.
The Roman Jesuitical religion was better adapted to their ideas of
Indian traffic and morals; hence, the honorable company chose to get rid
of all others, as they had done with all opposing fur traders. What was
a civilized Indian worth to that company? Not half as much as a common
otter or beaver skin. As to the soul of an Indian, he certainly could
have no more than the gentlemen who managed the affairs of the honorable
company.
CHAPTER VIII.
Petition of Red River settlers.--Their requests, from 1 to
14.--Names.--Governor Christie's reply.--Company's reply.--Extract
from minutes.--Resolutions, from 1 to 9.--Enforcing rules.--Land
deed.--Its condition.--Remarks.
Before closing this subject we must explain our allusion to the Red
River settlement, and in so doing illustrate and prove beyond a doubt
the settled and determined policy of that organization to crush out
their own, as well as American settlements,--a most unnatural, though
true position of that company. It will be seen, by the date of the
document quoted below, that, four years previous, that company, in order
to deceive the English government and people in relation to the
settlement on the Columbia River, and also to diminish the number of
this Red River colony, had, by direction of Sir George Simpson, sent a
part of it to the Columbia department. The remaining settlers of
Rupert's Land (the Selkirk settlement) began to assert their right to
cultivate the soil (as per Selkirk grant), as also the right to trade
with the natives, and to participate in the profits of the wild animals
in the country. The document they prepared is a curious, as well as
important one, and too interesting to be omitted. It reads as follows:--
"RED RIVER SETTLEMENT,}
"August 29, 1845.}
"SIR,--Having at this moment a very strong belief that we, as
natives of this country, and as half-breeds, have the right to hunt
furs in the Hudson's Bay Company's territories whenever we think
proper, and again sell those furs to the highest bidder, likewise
having a doubt that natives of this country can be prevented from
trading and trafficking with one another, we would wish to have
your opinion on the subject, lest we should commit ourselves by
doing any thing in opposition either to the laws of England or the
honorable company's privileges, and therefore lay before you, as
governor of Red River settlement, a few queries, which we beg you
will answer in course.
"_Query_ 1. Has a half-breed, a settler, the right to hunt furs in
this country?
"2. Has a native of this country, not an Indian, a right to hunt
furs?
"3. If a half-breed has the right to hunt furs, can he hire other
half-breeds for the purpose of hunting furs? Can a half-breed sell
his furs to any person he pleases?
"5. Is a half-breed obliged to sell his furs to the Hudson's Bay
Company at whatever price the company may think proper to give him?
"6. Can a half-breed receive any furs, as a present, from an
Indian, a relative of his?
"7. Can a half-breed hire any of his Indian relatives to hunt furs
for him?
"8. Can a half-breed trade furs from another half-breed, in or out
of the settlement?
"9. Can a half-breed trade furs from an Indian, in or out of the
settlement?
"10. With regard to trading or hunting furs, have the half-breeds,
or natives of European origin, any rights or privileges over
Europeans?
"11. A settler, having purchased lands from Lord Selkirk, or even
from the Hudson's Bay Company, without any conditions attached to
them, or without having signed any bond, deed, or instrument
whatever, whereby he might have willed away his right to trade
furs, can he be prevented from trading furs in the settlement with
settlers, or even out of the settlement?
"12. Are the limits of the settlement defined by the municipal law,
Selkirk grant, or Indian sale?
"13. If a person can not trade furs, either in or out of the
settlement, can he purchase them for his own and family use, and in
what quantity?
"14. Having never seen any official statements, nor known, but by
report, that the Hudson's Bay Company has peculiar privileges over
British subjects, natives, and half-breeds, resident in the
settlement, we would wish to know what those privileges are, and
the penalties attached to the infringement of the same.
"We remain your humble servants,
"JAMES SINCLAIR, ALEXIS GAULAT,
BAPTIST LA ROQUE, LOUIS LETENDE DE BATOCHE,
THOMAS LOGAN, WILLIAM MCMILLAN,
JOHN DEASE, ANTOINE MORRAN,
BAT. WILKIE, JOHN ANDERSON,
JOHN VINCENT, THOMAS MCDERMOT,
WILLIAM BIRD, ADALL TROTTIER,
PETER GARIOCH, CHARLES HOLE,
HENRY COOK, JOSEPH MONKMAN,
JOHN SPENCE, BAPTIST FARMAN.
"ALEXANDER CHRISTIE, Esq.,
"Governor of Red River Settlement."
Governor Christie's reply to these inquiries was so mild and
conciliatory that it will not add materially to our knowledge of the
company to give it. But the eight rules adopted by the company in
council let us into the secret soul of the _monstrosity_, and are here
given, that Americans may be informed as to its secret workings, and
also to show what little regard an Englishman has for any but an
aristocratic or moneyed concern.
* * * * *
"_Extracts from minutes of a meeting of the Governor and Council of
Rupert's Land, held at the Red River settlement, June 10, 1845._
"_Resolved_, 1st, That, once in every year, any British subject, if an
actual resident, and not a fur trafficker, may import, whether from
London or from St. Peter's, stores free of any duty now about to be
imposed, on declaring truly that he has imported them at his own risk.
"2d. That, once in every year, any British subject, if qualified as
before, may exempt from duty, as before, imports of the local value of
ten pounds, on declaring truly that they are intended exclusively to be
used by himself within Red River settlement, and have been purchased
with certain specified productions or manufactures of the aforesaid
settlement, exported in the same season, or by the latest vessel, at his
own risk.
"3d. That once in every year, any British subject, if qualified as
before, who may have personally accompanied both his exports and
imports, as defined in the preceding resolution, may exempt from duty,
as before, imports of the local value of fifty pounds, on declaring
truly that they are either to be consumed by himself, or to be sold by
himself to actual consumers within the aforesaid settlement, and have
been purchased with certain specified productions or manufactures of the
settlement, carried away by himself in the same season, or by the latest
vessel, at his own risk.
"4th. That all other imports from the United Kingdom for the aforesaid
settlement, shall, before delivery, pay at York Factory a duty of twenty
per cent. on their prime cost; provided, however, that the governor of
the settlement be hereby authorized to exempt from the same all such
importers as may from year to year be reasonably believed by him to have
neither trafficked in furs themselves, since the 8th day of December,
1844, nor enabled others to do so by illegally or improperly supplying
them with trading articles of any description.
"5th. That all other imports from any part of the United States shall
pay all duties payable under the provisions of 5 and 6 Vict., cap. 49,
the Imperial Statute for regulating the foreign trade of the British
possessions in North America; provided, however, that the
governor-in-chief, or, in his absence, the president of the council, may
so modify the machinery of the said act of Parliament, as to adapt the
same to the circumstances of the country.
"7th. That, henceforward, no goods shall be delivered at York Factory to
any but persons duly licensed to freight the same; such licenses being
given only in cases in which no fur trafficker may have any interest,
direct or indirect.
"8th. That any intoxicating drink, if found in a fur trafficker's
possession, beyond the limits of the aforesaid settlement, may be seized
and destroyed by any person on the spot.
"Whereas the intervention of middle men is alike injurious to the
honorable company and to the people; it is resolved,
"9th. That, henceforward, furs shall be purchased from none but the
actual hunters of the same.
"FORT GARRY, July 10, 1845."
_Copy of License referred to in Resolution 7._
"On behalf of the Hudson's Bay Company, I hereby license A. B. to
trade, and also ratify his having traded in English goods within the
limits of Red River settlement. This ratification and this license
to be null and void, from the beginning, in the event of his
hereafter trafficking in furs, or generally of his usurping any
whatever of all the privileges of the Hudson's Bay Company."
It was to save Oregon from becoming a den of such oppressors and robbers
of their own countrymen, that Whitman risked his life in 1842-3, that
the provisional government of the American settlers was formed in 1843,
that five hundred of them flew to arms in 1847, and fought back the
savage hordes that this same Hudson's Bay Company had trained, under the
teaching of their half-breeds and Jesuit priests, to sweep them from the
land. Is this so? Let us see what they did just across the Rocky
Mountains with their own children, as stated by their own witnesses and
countrymen.
Sir Edward Fitzgerald says of them, on page 213:--
"But the company do not appear to have trusted to paper deeds to
enforce their authority.
"They were not even content with inflicting fines under the form of
a hostile tariff; but, as the half-breeds say, some of the fur
traders were imprisoned, and all the goods and articles of those who
were _suspected of an intention to traffic in furs_ were seized and
confiscated.
"But another, and even more serious attack, was made on the
privileges of the settlers.
"The company being, under their charter, nominal owners of the
soil, dispose of it to the colonists in any manner they think best.
A portion of the land in the colony is held from Lord Selkirk, who
first founded the settlement.
"Now, however, the company drew up a new _land deed_, which all were
compelled to sign who wished to hold any land in the settlement."
This new land deed, above referred to, is too lengthy and verbose to be
given entire; therefore we will only copy such parts as bind the
settlers not to infringe upon the supposed chartered rights of the
Hudson's Bay Company.
The first obligation of the person receiving this deed was to settle
upon the land within forty days, and, within five years, cause one-tenth
part of the land to be brought under cultivation.
The second: "He, his executors, administrators, and assigns, shall not,
directly or indirectly, mediately or immediately, _violate_ or _evade_
any of the chartered or licensed privileges of the said governor and
company, or any restrictions on trading or dealing with Indians or
others, which have been or may be imposed by the said governor and
company, or by any other competent authority, _or in any way enable_ any
person or persons to _violate or evade_, or to persevere in violating or
evading the same; and, in short, _shall obey all such laws and
regulations_ as within the said settlement now are, or hereafter may be
in force"----Here are enumerated a long list of political duties
pertaining to the citizen.
The deed in its third condition says: "And also that he [the said
receiver of the deed], his executors, administrators, and assigns, shall
not nor will, without the license or consent of the said governor and
company for that purpose first obtained, carry on or establish, in _any
part_ of North America, any trade or traffic in, or relating to, any
kind of skins, furs, peltry, or _dressed leather_, nor in any manner,
directly or indirectly, aid or abet any person or persons in carrying on
such trade or traffic."----Here follows a long lingo, forbidding the
settler to buy, make, or sell liquors in any shape on his lands, and
requiring him, under pain of forfeiture of his title, _to prevent others
from doing so_, and binding the settler, under all the supposed and
unsupposed conditions of obligation, _not to supply_ or allow to be
supplied any articles of trade to any unauthorized (by the company)
person supposed to violate their trade, including companies "corporate
or incorporate, prince, power, potentate, or state whatsoever, who shall
infringe or violate, or who shall set about to infringe or violate the
exclusive rights, powers, privileges and immunities of commerce, trade,
or traffic, or all or any other of the exclusive rights, powers,
privileges, and immunities of, or belonging, or in any wise
appertaining to, or held, used or enjoyed by the said governor and
company, and their successors, under their charter or charters, without
the license or consent of the said governor and company and their
successors, for the time being, first had and obtained.
"And, lastly,"--here follows a particular statement asserting that for
the violation of any one of the thousand and one conditions of that
deed, the settler forfeits to the company his right to the land, which
reverts back to the company.
Our country delights to honor the sailor and soldier who performs a
good, great, or noble act to save its territory from becoming the abode
of despotism, or its honor from the taunt of surrounding nations. In
what light shall we regard the early American missionaries and pioneers
of Oregon?
It is true they heard the call of the oppressed savage for Christian
light and civilization. They came in good faith, and labored faithfully,
though, perhaps, mistaking many of the strict duties of the Christian
missionary; and some, being led astray by the wiles and cunning of an
unscrupulous fur monopoly, failed to benefit the Indians to the extent
anticipated; yet they formed the nucleus around which the American
pioneer with his family gathered, and from which he drew his
encouragement and protection; and a part of these missionaries were the
leaders and sustainers of those influences which ultimately secured this
country to freedom and the great Republic.
The extracts from the deed above quoted show what Oregon would have
been, had the early American missionaries failed to answer the call of
the Indians, or had been driven from the country; or even had not
Whitman and his associates separated, the one to go to Washington to ask
for delay in the settlement of the boundary question, the others to the
Wallamet Valley to aid and urge on the organization of the provisional
government.
CHAPTER IX.
Puget Sound Agricultural Company.--Its original stock.--A
correspondence.--No law to punish fraud.--A supposed trial of the
case.--Article four of the treaty.--The witnesses.--Who is to
receive the Puget Sound money.--Dr. Tolmie, agent of the
company.--The country hunted up.--Difficult to trace a fictitious
object.--Statement of their claim.--Result of the investigation.
The Puget Sound Agricultural Company, now claiming of our government the
sum of $1,168,000, was first talked of and brought into existence at
Vancouver in the winter of 1837, in consequence of, and in opposition
to, the Wallamet Cattle Company, which was got up and successfully
carried through by the influence and perseverance of Rev. Jason Lee,
superintendent of the Methodist Mission. This Nasqualla and Puget Sound
Company was an opposing influence to Mr. Lee and his mission settlement,
and was also to form the nucleus for two other British settlements in
Oregon, to be under the exclusive control of the Hudson's Bay Company.
The original stock of the company was nominally £200,000. The paid-up
capital upon this amount was supposed to be ten per cent., which would
give £20,000, or $96,800, at $4.84 per pound. From the most reliable
information we can get, this amount was taken from a sinking fund, or a
fund set apart for the purpose of opposing any opposition in the fur
trade. About the time this Puget Sound Company came into existence, the
American fur companies had been driven from the country, and the fund
was considered as idle or useless stock; and as the question of
settlement of the country would in all probability soon come up, Rev.
Mr. Lee having taken the first step to the independence of his
missionary settlement in the Wallamet, this Puget Sound Company was
gotten up to control the agricultural and cattle or stock interests of
the country. It was in existence in name some two years before its
definite arrangements were fixed by the Hudson's Bay Company, through
the agency of Dr. W. F. Tolmie, who went to London for that purpose, and
by whom they were concluded, "with the consent of the Hudson's Bay
Company, who stipulated that an officer connected with the fur-trade
branch of the Hudson's Bay Company should have supreme direction of the
affairs of the Puget Sound Company in this country. It was also
stipulated that the Puget Sound Company should be under bonds _not to
permit any of its employés_ to be in any way concerned in the fur trade,
in opposition to the Hudson's Bay Company."
It is easy to be seen by the above-stated condition, that the Hudson's
Bay Company were not willing to allow the least interference with their
fur trade by any one over whom they had any control or influence; that
their design and object was to control the trade of the whole country,
and that they had no intention in any way to encourage any American
settlement in it, as shown by the arrangements made as early as 1837.
There had been a correspondence with the managing directors of the
company in London previous to Dr. Tolmie's visit. The directors had
discouraged the proposed enlargement of their business, but it seems
from the statement of Dr. Tolmie, and the arrangements he made, that
they acceded to his plans, and constituted him their special agent.
There was at the time a question as to a separate charter for that
branch of their business. It was finally conceded that a separate
charter would enable this agricultural and cattle company to become
independent of the fur branch, and thus be the means of establishing an
opposition by the use of the funds appropriated to prevent any thing of
this kind, and decided that as the company had stipulated that they were
to have the "_supreme direction_ of the Puget Sound Agricultural
Company," no charter was necessary, and hence any arrangements to that
effect were withdrawn. It was from a knowledge of the fact that that
company had not even the Parliamentary acknowledgment of its separate
existence from the Hudson's Bay Company, that all their land claims were
at once taken; and upon that ground they have not dared to prosecute
their claims, only under the wording of the treaty with the United
States, which is the only shadow of a legal existence they have, and
which, there is no question, would have been stricken from the treaty,
except through the fur influence of the company to increase the
plausibility of their claims against our government.
If there was any law to punish a fraud attempted to be committed by a
foreign company upon a friendly nation, this would be a plain case; as
the Hudson's Bay Company, they claim $3,822,036.37; as the Puget Sound
Company, $1,168,000. The original stock of the Hudson's Bay Company was
£10,500, or $50,820. In 1690 the dividends upon this capital invested
were so enormous that the company voted to treble their stock, which was
declared to be £31,500, or $152,460. In 1720 the capital was again
declared trebled, and to be £94,500, or $457,380, while the only amount
paid was £10,500, or $50,820. It was then proposed to add three times
as much to its capital stock by subscription; each subscriber paying
£100 was to receive £300 of stock, so that the nominal stock should
amount to £378,000, or $1,820,520--the real additional sum subscribed
being £94,500, and the amount of real stock added or paid but £3,150. In
1821, the Hudson's Bay Company and Northwest Company, of Montreal, were
united. The Hudson's Bay Company called £100 on each share of its stock,
thus raising it nominally to £200,000, or $958,000. The Northwest
Company called theirs the same. The two companies combined held a
nominal joint stock of £400,000, or $1,916,000, while we have reason to
suppose that the original stock of the two companies, admitting that the
Northwest French Company had an equal amount of original capital
invested, would give £37,300, or $135,134, as the capital upon which
they have drawn from our country never less than ten per cent. per
annum, even when counted at £400,000, or $1,916,000; and what, we would
ask, has America received in return for this enormous drain of her
wealth and substance?
Have the Indians in any part of the vast country occupied by that
company been civilized or bettered in their condition? Have the
settlements under their fostering care been successful and prosperous?
Have they done any thing to improve any portion of the country they have
occupied, any further than such improvements were necessary to increase
the profits of their fur trade?
To every one of these questions we say, emphatically, No, not in a
single instance. On the contrary, they have used their privileges solely
to draw all the wealth they could from the country, and leave as little
as was possible in return.
The British author, from whose book we have drawn our figures of that
company's stock, says of them: "To say, then, that the trade of this
country (England) has been fostered and extended by the monopoly enjoyed
by the company, is exactly contrary to the truth."
We come now to learn all we can of a something that has assumed the name
of Puget Sound Agricultural Company, and under that name, through the
paternal influence of a bastard corporation, presumes to ask an immense
sum of the American government, whose country they have used all their
power and influence to secure to themselves, by acting falsely to their
own. We do not claim to be learned in the law of nations, therefore we
can only express such an opinion in this case as we would were the case
argued before a learned court and we one of the jurors, giving our
opinion as to the amount the parties were entitled to receive. We will
suppose that the lawyers have made their pleas, which would, when
printed, with the testimony on both sides, make a volume of the usual
size of law books of one thousand pages. Of course the fourth article of
the treaty would be read to us by both the lawyers, and explained by the
judge, who would doubtless say to the jury the first question to decide
is, whether there is sufficient evidence to convince you that the
company claiming this name have any legal existence outside the wording
of the fourth article of this treaty. Our answer would be: "Your honor,
there is not the least word in a single testimony presented before us to
show that they ever had any existence, only as they assumed a name to
designate the place a certain branch of the Hudson's Bay Company's
business, outside of its legitimate trade; that this being a branch
legitimately belonging to a settlement of loyal citizens of the country,
we find that this Hudson's Bay Company, in assuming the _supreme
direction_, as per testimony of Dr. Tolmie, superseded and usurped the
prerogatives of the State; that the claim of this company, as set up in
the wording of the treaty, is for the benefit of a company having no
natural or legal right to assume _supreme direction_ of the soil or its
productions. Hence any improvement made, or stock destroyed, was at the
risk of the individual owning, or making, or bringing such stock or
improvements into the country, and subject exclusively to the laws of
the country in which the trespass occurred. The claiming a name
belonging to no legal body cannot be made legal by a deception practiced
upon the persons making the treaty, as this would be equivalent to
pledging the nation to the payment of money when no cause could be shown
that money was justly due, as neither nation (except by a deception
brought to bear upon commissioners forming the treaty by the mere
assertion of an interested party) acknowledged the reported existence of
such a corporation, thereby creating a corporate body by the wording of
a treaty." This, to a common juror, we confess, would look like removing
the necessity of a common national law, in relation to all claims of
foreigners who might feel disposed to come over and trespass upon our
national domain. A word in this treaty does not settle the matter, and
the claim should not be paid. The article above referred to is commented
upon by Mr. Day as follows:--
"That by article four of the treaty concluded between the United
States of America and Great Britain, under date of the 15th day of
June, 1864, it was provided that the farms, lands, and other
property, of every description, belonging to the Puget Sound
Agricultural Company, on the north side of the Columbia River [they
should have included those in the French possession, and added
another million to their claim; but we suppose they became liberal,
and consented to take half of the country their servants had settled
upon], should be confirmed to the said company; but that in case
the situation of those farms and lands should be considered by the
United States to be of public and political importance, and the
United States government should signify a desire to obtain
possession of the whole, or of any part thereof, the property so
required should be transferred to the said government at a proper
valuation, to be agreed upon between the parties.
"That the government of the United States has not, at any time,
signified to the company a desire that any of the said property
should be transferred to the said government at a valuation as
provided by the treaty, nor has any transfer thereof been made [this
was a great misfortune. Uncle Sam had so much land of his own he did
not want to buy out this bastard company right away after the treaty
was made]; but the company have ever since continued to be the
rightful owners of the said lands, farms, and other property, and
entitled to the free and undisturbed possession and enjoyment
thereof. [True; so with all bastards. They live and die, and never
find a father to own them, except they come up with a big pile of
money, which in your claim is a case of _clonas_ (don't know.)]
"That, by a convention concluded between the two governments on the
1st day of July, 1863, it was agreed that all questions between the
United States authorities on the one hand, and the Puget Sound
Agricultural Company on the other, with respect to the rights and
claims of the latter, should be settled by the transfer of such
rights and claims to the government of the United States for an
adequate money consideration.
"And the claimants aver that the rights and claims of the Puget
Sound Agricultural Company, referred to and intended in and by the
said convention, are their rights and claims in and upon the said
lands, farms, and other property of every description which they so
held and possessed within the said territory, and which, by reason
of the said treaty of the 15th of June, 1846, and according to the
terms of the fourth article thereof, the United States became and
were bound to confirm. And of the said farms and other property,
they now submit to the honorable the commissioners a detailed
statement and valuation, as follows."
There have been twenty-seven witnesses examined to prove the claims
above set forth, and not a single one of them testified or gave the
least intimation that there ever was any such company as here set forth
in existence, only as connected with and subject to the control and
management of the Hudson's Bay Company, the same as their farming
operations at Vancouver or Colville, or any other of their posts. The
claim is so manifestly fictitious and without foundation, that the
learned attorney for the company bases his whole reliance upon the
wording of the treaty, and in consequence of the wording of that treaty,
"and according to the terms of the fourth article thereof, he says the
United States _became_ and _were bound_ to confirm." So we suppose any
other monstrous claim set up by a band of foreign fur traders having
influence enough to start any speculation on a nominal capital in our
country and failing to realize the profits anticipated, must apply for
an acknowledgment of their speculation, be mentioned in a treaty, and be
paid in proportion to the enormity of their demands. We are inclined to
the opinion that so plain a case of fraud will be soon disposed of, and
the overgrown monster that produced it sent howling after the Indians
they have so long and so successfully robbed, as per their own
admission, of £20,000,000 sterling. (See Mr. M. Martin's Hudson's Bay
Company's Territory, etc., p. 131.)
There is another question arising in this supposed Puget Sound concern.
Suppose, for a moment, the commissioners decide to pay the whole or any
part of this demand, who will be the recipients of this money? We doubt
whether the learned commissioners or the counsel of the supposed company
could tell, unless it is to be his fee for prosecuting the case.
Doctor William Fraser Tolmie and Mr. George B. Roberts are the only two
witnesses that appear to know much about the matter, and Mr. Roberts'
information seems to be derived from the same source as our own, so that
the writer, though not a member of the company, has about as good a
knowledge of its object and organization as Mr. Roberts, who was
connected with the Hudson's Bay Company, and also an agent of this Puget
Sound Company.
Dr. Tolmie says: "The Puget Sound Company _acquired_, or purchased from
the Hudson's Bay Company, all its improvements at Cowlitz and Nasqualla,
with its lands, live stock, and agricultural implements, all of which
were transferred, in 1840 or 1841, by the Hudson's Bay Company to the
Puget Sound Company."
As we understand this matter, it amounts to just this, and no more: The
Hudson's Bay Company had consented to enlarge their business by
employing an outside capital or sinking fund they had at their disposal;
they instructed Dr. Tolmie, their special agent for that purpose, to
receive all the property at the two stations or farms named, to take
possession of them, and instead of opening an account with their
opposition sinking fund, they called it the Puget Sound Agricultural
Company. This explains the ten per cent. paid stock into that company.
Now, if this venture is profitable, nothing is lost; if it is not, it
does not interfere with the legitimate business of the fur
company--hence the distinct claim under this name.
"The Puget Sound Company charged the Hudson's Bay Company for all
supplies furnished, and paid the Hudson's Bay Company for all goods
received from them."
This was exactly in the line of the whole business done throughout the
entire Hudson's Bay Company, with all their forts, and other
establishments.
"Were not the accounts of the Puget Sound Company always forwarded to
the Hudson's Bay Company's depot?" "_They were_," says Dr. Tolmie; and
so were all the accounts of all the posts on this coast sent to the
depot at Vancouver, and thence to head-quarters on the other side of the
Rocky Mountains.
We have shown, by reference to the capital stock of the Hudson's Bay
Company, that, in 1821, it was counted at £200,000. From this sum ten
per cent., or £20,000, was set apart as a sinking fund to oppose any fur
company or traders on the west side of the mountains, and an equal sum
for the same purpose on the east.
This western amount, being placed under the direction of Dr. Tolmie and
his successors, produced in seven years £11,000 sterling, equal to
$53,240. This transaction does not appear, from the testimony adduced in
the case, to have interfered in the least with the fur trade carried on
at these stations, and by the same officers or clerks of the Hudson's
Bay Company; hence, we are unable, from the whole catalogue of
twenty-seven witnesses in the case, to find out who is to receive this
nice little sum of $1,168,000 or £240,000--only £40,000 more than the
mother had to trade upon when she produced this beautiful full-grown
child, the Puget Sound Agricultural Company,--having had an abortion on
the other side of the continent in the loss, without pay, of a large
portion of the Red River or Selkirk country. Uncle Sam was ungenerous
there.
This is truly an acre of wonders, and this Hudson's Bay Company and its
productions are entitled to some consideration for their ingenuity, if
not for their honesty. It will be interesting to look at our British
cousins and see what is said about this "_itself_ and _its other self_."
Mr. Fitzgerald says, page 260: "It is a matter of importance to know
whether the Hudson's Bay Company is about to submit itself and _its
other self_--the Puget Sound Association--to the same regulations which
are to be imposed on other settlers of Vancouver Island and British
Columbia."
On page 287, he further states: "The Oregon Territory was peopled, under
the influence of the company, with subjects of the United States.
(Since Writing the former chapter, I have heard this account given of
the conduct of the Hudson's Bay Company, in regard to the Oregon
boundary, which offers still stronger ground for inquiry. The country
south of the 49th parallel, it seems, was hunted up--therefore the posts
of the Hudson's Bay Company were become of no value at all. By annexing
all that country to the United States, and inserting in the treaty a
clause that the United States should pay the company for all its posts
if it turned them out, the company were able to obtain from the
Americans a large sum of money for what would have been worth nothing
had the territory remained British.) That lost us the boundary of the
Columbia River. That is one specimen of the colonization of the Hudson's
Bay Company. The boundary westward from the Lake of the Woods, we have
seen, gave to the United States land from which the company was engaged,
at the very time, in driving out British subjects, on the plea that it
belonged to the company; and now that the boundary has been settled only
a few years, we learn that the settlers on our side are asking the
United States to extend her government over that country."
If this does not show a clear case of abortion on the part of that
_honorable_ Hudson's Bay Company east of the Rocky Mountains, tell us
what does. But it is interesting to trace a little further the British
ideas and pretensions to this Pacific coast. Our British author says,
page 288:--
"Make what lines you please in a map and call them boundaries, but
it is mockery to do so as long as the inhabitants are alienated from
your rule, as long as you have a company in power whose policy
erases the lines which treaties have drawn.
"Forasmuch, then, as these things are so, it becomes this country
[Great Britain] to record an emphatic protest against the recent
policy of the Colonial Office in abandoning the magnificent country
on the shores of the Pacific Ocean to the Hudson's Bay Company.
"The blindest can not long avoid seeing the immense importance of
Vancouver Island to Great Britain. Those who, two years ago [1846],
first began to attract public attention to this question, are not
the less amazed at the unexpected manner and rapidity with which
their anticipations have been realized.
"Six months ago it was a question merely of colonizing Vancouver
Island; now it is a question involving the interests of the whole of
British North America, and of the empire of Great Britain in the
Pacific Ocean."
It is always more or less difficult to trace the course of a false or
fictitious object. It becomes peculiarly so when two objects of the
same character come up; the one, by long practice and experience,
assuming a fair and honorable exterior, having talent, experience, and
wealth; the other, an illegitimate production, being called into
existence to cripple the energies of two powerful nations, and living
under the supreme control of the body, having acquired its position
through the ignorance of the nations it seeks to deceive. It is out of
the question to separate two such objects or associations. The one is
the child of the other, and is permitted to exist while the object to be
accomplished remains an opponent to the parent association.
The opposition to the fur monopoly having ceased west of the Rocky
Mountains, a new element of national aggrandizement and empire comes
within the range of this deceitful and grasping association. Its child
is immediately christened and set to work under its paternal eye. We
have the full history of the progress made by this _Mr. Puget Sound
Agricultural Company_ in the testimony of the twenty-seven witnesses
summoned to prove his separate existence from that of the _Hudson's Bay
Company_.
We find, in tracing the existence of these two children of the British
empire in North America, that they have established themselves in an
island on the Pacific coast called Vancouver. In this island they are
more thrifty and better protected than they were in the dominions of
Uncle Samuel. Notwithstanding they are comfortably located, and have
secured the larger part of that island and the better portion of British
Columbia, there is occasionally a British subject that grumbles a little
about them in the following undignified style:--
"If the company were to be destroyed to-morrow, would England be
poorer? Would there not rather be demanded from the hands of our own
manufacturers ten times the quantity of goods which is sent abroad,
under the present system, to purchase the skins?" My dear sir, this
would make the Indians comfortable and happy. "We boast [says this
Englishman] that we make no slaves, none at least that can taint our
soil, or fret our sight; but we take the child of the forest, whom
God gave us to civilize, and commit him, bound hand and foot, to the
most iron of all despotisms--_a commercial monopoly_.
"Nor, turning from the results of our policy upon the native
population, to its effect upon settlers and colonists, is there
greater cause for congratulation.
"The system which has made the native a slave is making the settler
a rebel.
"Restrictions upon trade, jealousy of its own privileges,
interference with the rights of property, exactions, and all the
other freaks in which monopoly and despotism delight to indulge,
have, it appears, driven the best settlers into American territory,
and left the rest, as it were, packing up their trunks for the
journey."
This, so far as relates to the proceedings, policy, and influence of
that company upon the settlement of Vancouver Island and British
Columbia, is verified by the facts now existing in those British
colonies. Their whole system is a perfect mildew and blight upon any
country in which they are permitted to trade or to do business.
We have little or no expectation that any thing we may write will affect
in the least the decision of the commissioners, whose business it is to
decide this Puget Sound Company's case; but, as a faithful historian, we
place on record the most prominent facts relating to it, for the purpose
of showing the plans and schemes of an English company, who are a
nuisance in the country, and a disgrace to the nation under whose
charters they profess to act. Up to the time we were permitted to
examine the testimony they have produced in support of their monstrous
claims, we were charitable enough to believe there were some men in its
employ who could be relied upon for an honest and truthful statement of
facts in relation to the property and improvements for which these
claims are made; but we are not only disappointed, but forced to believe
the truth is not in them,--at least in any whose testimony is before us
in either case. Our English author says:--
"It does not appear that the interposition of '_an irresponsible
company_' can be attended with benefit to the colony.----A company
whose direction is in London, and which is wholly _irresponsible_,
either to the colonists or to the British Parliament.----There is
ample evidence in the foregoing pages that it would be absurd to
give this company credit for _unproductive
patriotism_.----Considering the identity existing between this
association [the Puget Sound Association] and the Hudson's Bay
Company, in whose hands the whole management of the colonization of
Vancouver Island is placed, there is a very strong reason to fear
that the arrangements which have been made will, for some years at
any rate, utterly ruin that country as a field for colonial
enterprise. There is a strong inducement for the company to grant
all the best part of the island to themselves, under the name of the
Puget Sound Association; and to trust to the settlements which may
be formed by that association as being sufficient to satisfy the
obligation to colonize which is imposed by the charter.
"There is a strong inducement to discourage the immigration of
independent settlers; first, because when all the colonists are in
the position of their own servants, they will be able much more
readily to prevent interference with the fur trade; and secondly,
_because the presence of private capital in the island could only
tend to diminish their own gains, derived from the export of
agricultural produce._
"And, on the other hand, there will be every possible discouragement
to emigrants of the better class to settle in a colony where a large
part of the country will be peopled only by the lowest order of
workmen, where they may have to compete with the capital of a
wealthy company, and that company not only their rival in trade, but
at the same time possessed of the supreme power, and of paramount
political influence in the colony.
"There is a reason, more important than all, why the Hudson's Bay
Company will never be able to form _a colony_. An agricultural
settlement they may establish; a few forts, where Scotchmen will
grumble for a few years before they go over to the Americans, but
never a community that will deserve the name of a British colony.
THEY DO NOT POSSESS PUBLIC CONFIDENCE.
"But the Hudson's Bay Company--the colonial office of this
unfortunate new colony--_has positive interests_ antagonistic to
those of an important settlement.
"It is a body whose history, tendency, traditions, and prospects are
_equally and utterly opposed_ to the existence, within its
hunting-grounds, of an active, wealthy, independent, and flourishing
colony," (we Americans say settlements) "with all the destructive
consequences of ruined monopoly and wide-spread civilization."
Need we stop to say the above is the best of British testimony in favor
of the position we have assumed in relation to a company who will cramp
and dwarf the energies of their own nation to increase the profits on
the paltry capital they have invested.
Have the Americans any right to believe they will pursue any more
liberal course toward them than they have, and do pursue toward their
countrymen? As this writer remarks, "civilization ruins their
_monopoly_." The day those two noble and sainted women, Mrs. Spalding
and Mrs. Whitman, came upon the plains of the Columbia, they could do no
less than allow England's banner to do them reverence, for God had sent
and preserved them, as emblems of American civilization, religious
light, and liberty upon this coast. One of them fell by the ruthless
hand of the sectarian savages, pierced by Hudson's Bay balls from
Hudson's Bay guns. The other was carried, in a Hudson's Bay boat, to the
protecting care of the American settlement; and for what purpose? That
the savage might remain in barbarism; that the monster monopoly might
receive its profits from the starving body and soul of the Indian; that
civilization and Christianity, and the star of empire might be stayed in
their westward course.
Not yet satisfied with the blood of sixteen noble martyrs to
civilization and Christianity, quick as thought their missives are upon
the ocean wave. Wafted upon the wings of the wind, a foul slander is
sent by the representatives of that monopoly all over the earth, to
blast her (Mrs. Whitman's) Christian and missionary character with that
of her martyred husband. And why?
Because that husband had braved the perils of a winter journey to the
capital of his country, to defeat their malicious designs, to shut up
the country and forever close it to American civilization and religion.
And now, with an audacity only equaled by the arch-enemy of God and man,
they come to our government and demand five millions of gold for
facilitating the settlement of a country they had not the courage or
power to prevent.
This, to a person ignorant of the peculiar arrangements of so monstrous
a monopoly, will appear strange--that they should have an exclusive
monopoly in trade in a country, and have not the courage or power to
prevent its settlement, especially when such settlement interferes with
its trade. So far as American territory was concerned, they were only
permitted to have a joint occupancy in trade. The sovereignty or right
of soil was not settled; hence, any open effort against any settler from
any country was a trespass against the rights of such settler. They
could only enforce their chartered privileges in British territory. The
country, under these circumstances, afforded them a vast field in which
to combine and arrange schemes calculated to perpetuate their own power
and influence in it. The natives of the country were their trading
capital and instruments, ready to execute their will upon all opponents.
The Protestant missionaries brought an influence and a power that at
once overturned their licensed privileges in trade, because with the
privilege of trade, they had agreed, in accepting their original
charter, to civilize and Christianize the natives of the country. This
part of their compact the individual members of the company were
fulfilling by each taking a native woman, and rearing as many
half-civilised subjects as was convenient. This had the effect to
destroy their courage in any investigation of their conduct. As to their
power, as we have intimated above, it was derived from the capacity,
courage, prejudices, and ignorance of the Indians, which the American
missionary, if let alone, would soon overcome by his more liberal
dealings with them, and his constant effort to improve their condition,
which, just in proportion as the Indians learned the value of their own
productions and labor, would diminish the profits in the fur trade.
This increase of civilization and settlement, says chief-trader
Anderson, "had been foreseen on the part of the company, and to a
certain extent provided for. The cession of Oregon, under the treaty of
1846, and the consequent negotiations for the transfer to the American
government of all our rights and possessions in their territory,
retarded all further proceedings."
In this statement of Mr. Anderson, and the statement of Mr. Roberts, an
old clerk of the company, and from our own observations, this
"foreseeing" on the part of the company was an arrangement with the
Indians, and such as had been half civilized by the various individual
efforts of the members and servants of the company, to so arrange
matters that an exterminating war against the missionary settlements in
the country should commence before the Mexican difficulty with the
United States was settled.
This view of the question is sustained by the reply of Sir James Douglas
to Mr. Ogden, by Mr. Ogden's course and treatment of the Indians on his
way up the Columbia River, his letters to Revs. E. Walker and Spalding,
his special instructions to the Indians, and payment of presents in war
materials for their captives, and the course pursued by Sir James
Douglas in refusing supplies to the provisional troops and settlers, and
the enormous supplies of ammunition furnished to the priests for the
Indians during the war of 1847-8.
We are decidedly of the same opinion respecting that company as their
own British writer, who, in conclusion, after giving us a history of 281
pages, detailing one unbroken course of oppression and cruelty to all
under their iron despotism, says:--
"The question at issue is a serious one,--whether a valuable
territory shall be given up to an _irresponsible corporation_, to be
colonized or not, as it may suit their convenience; or whether that
colonization shall be conducted in accordance with any principles
which are recognized as sound and right?"
We can easily see the connection in the principle of right in paying any
portion of either of the monstrous claims of that company, which never
has been responsible to any civilized national authority.
"The foregoing exposure of the character and conduct of the
company has been provoked. When doubts were expressed whether the
company were qualified for fulfilling the tasks assigned to them
by the Colonial Minister, and when they appealed to their
character and history, it became right that their history should
be examined, and their character exposed.
"The investigation thus provoked has resulted in the discovery that
their _authority is fictitious, and their claims invalid_. As their
power is illegal, so the exercise of it has been mischievous; it has
been mischievous to Great Britain, leaving her to accomplish, at a
vast national expense, discoveries which the company undertook, and
were paid to perform; and because our trade has been _contracted_
and crippled, without any advantage, political or otherwise, having
been obtained in return; it has been mischievous to the native
Indians, cutting them off from all communication with the rest of
the civilized world, depriving them of the fair value of their
labor, keeping them in a condition of slavery, and leaving them in
the same state of poverty, misery, and paganism in which it
originally found them; it has been mischievous to the settlers and
colonists under its influence, depriving them of their liberties as
British subjects, frustrating, by exactions and arbitrary
regulations, their efforts to advance, and, above all, undermining
their loyalty and attachment to their mother country, and fostering,
by bad government, a spirit of discontent with their own, and
sympathy with foreign institutions."
This writer says: "This is the company whose power is now [in 1849] to
be strengthened and consolidated!--to whose dominion is to be added the
most important post which Great Britain possesses in the Pacific, and to
whom the formation of a new colony is to be intrusted."
And, we add, this is the power that has succeeded in forcing their
infamous claims upon our government to the amount above stated, and by
the oaths of men trained for a long series of years to rob the Indian of
the just value of his labor, to deceive and defraud their own nation as
to the fulfillment of chartered stipulations and privileges.
The facts developed by our history may not affect the decision of the
commissioners in their case, but the future student of the history of
the settlement of our Pacific coast will be able to understand the
influences its early settlers had to contend with, and the English
colonist may learn the secret of their failure to build up a wealthy and
prosperous colony in any part of their vast dominion on the North
American continent.
CHAPTER X.
Case of The Hudson's Bay Company _v._ The United
States.--Examination of Mr. McTavish.--Number of witnesses.--Their
ignorance.--Amount claimed.--Original stock.--Value of land in
Oregon.--Estimate of Hudson's Bay Company's property.--Remarks of
author.
I have carefully reviewed all the testimony in the above case, on both
sides, up to May 1, 1867. On April 12, the counsel on the part of the
United States having already spent twenty-five days in cross-examining
Chief-Factor McTavish, so as to get at the real expenditures of the
Hudson's Bay Company, and arrive at a just conclusion as to the amount
due them,--Mr. McTavish having frequently referred to accounts and
statements which he averred could be found on the various books of the
company,--gave notice to the counsel of the company in the following
language:--
"The counsel for the United States require of Mr. McTavish, who, as
appears from his evidence, is a chief factor of the Hudson's Bay
Company, and its agent in the prosecution of this claim, to produce
here for examination by the United States or their counsel, all
accounts, account-books, and letter-books of said company, together
with the regulations under which their books were kept, and the
various forms of contracts with servants of the company, all of
which books, rules, and forms contain evidence pertinent to the
issue in this case, as appears from the cross-examination of Mr.
McTavish, and suspends the further cross-examination of this witness
until he shall produce such books, accounts, rules, and forms."
On the 1st of May Mr. McTavish's examination was resumed.
_Int. 952._--"Will you please produce here for examination by the
United States or their counsel, all accounts, account-books, and
letter-books of the Hudson's Bay Company which were kept at the
various posts of that company south of the 49th parallel of north
latitude during their occupation by the company, together with the
regulations under which their books were kept, and the regular
forms of contracts with the company's servants?"
_Ans._--"I can not say whether I will produce them or not."
(The above question was objected to as incompetent, and as asking the
witness, not as to what he knows of the subject, but as to what his
future course of action will be, over which, as witness, he can have no
control.)
During the examination of Mr. McTavish it was evident that he was the
main prosecuting witness, and considerably interested in the results of
the claim, or suit.
It would doubtless be interesting to most of our readers to see a review
of the testimony, or at least a summary of the evidence presented on
both sides in this case. There are now printed about one thousand pages
of documents and depositions. That relating particularly to the Hudson's
Bay Company comprises about two-thirds of the whole amount. The balance
relates more particularly to the Puget Sound Agricultural Company's
claim. This claim, the company have not been able, by any testimony yet
presented, to separate from that of the Hudson's Bay Company; so that
there is no prospect of their receiving one dollar on that account.
There have been examined on the part of the Puget Sound Company, to
prove its separate existence from the Hudson's Bay Company, thirty
witnesses; on the part of the United States, twenty-one. On the part of
the Hudson's Bay Company's claim as separate from the Puget Sound
Company, nineteen witnesses; on the part of the United States, thirty.
On both sides not far from forty-five witnesses have been called upon
the stand to testify in this important case. The company in London have
been requested to furnish evidence of the separate organization or
independent existence of the two companies; and with all this evidence
produced, nothing definite or certain is shown, except that the concern
was gotten up to deceive the English people and rob the American
government, and to counteract and oppose the American settlement of this
country.
As a looker-on and an observer of events in this country, I must confess
my astonishment at the ignorance, perverseness, and stupidity of men
whom I have ever heretofore regarded as honorable and truthful.
From the testimony before me of the twenty odd English witnesses, it
really appears as though they felt that all they had to do was to ask
their pay, and our government would give it to them; or, in other words,
they, as Englishmen and British subjects, are prepared to compel the
payment of any sum they demand.
There are many interesting developments brought out in this case
relative to the early history of this country, which renders the
depositions in the case, though voluminous and tedious in the main, yet
interesting to the close and careful student of our history.
If time and opportunity is given, I will review this whole testimony as
a part of the history of this country, and, in so doing, will endeavor
to correct an erroneous impression that will result from the testimony
as now before us.
The amount claimed in this case is four million nine hundred and ninety
thousand thirty-six dollars and sixty-seven cents, or, nine hundred and
eighty-five thousand three hundred and fifty pounds sterling, in gold
coin.
I now have before me, including the Hudson's Bay Company's memorial,
eleven hundred and twenty-six pages of printed documents and depositions
relating to this case. I also have what may properly be termed British
testimony, bearing directly upon this case, which is entitled to its
full weight in a proper and just decision as to the amount of
compensation this Hudson's Bay Company is entitled to receive from our
government.
I do not propose to review all the one thousand four hundred and
nineteen pages of statements and depositions in detail; that would be
too tedious, though I might be able to make it interesting to the
general reader, as it develops the whole history of that portion of our
continent that has for one hundred and ninety-seven years been under the
exclusive jurisdiction of a monopoly that effectually closed it to all
outside influences up to the year A.D. 1834.
According to our British testimony, it was originally £10,500. In 1690,
in consequence of the enormous profits upon this small capital, it was
increased threefold, making it £31,500. In 1720 it was declared to be
£94,500. In this year the stock was (as is termed) _watered_. The then
proprietors each subscribed £100, and received £300 of stock, calling
the whole nominal stock £378,000, while the actual subscription was but
£94,500, and only £3,150 was paid. The stock was ordered to reckon at
£103,500, while the actual total amount paid was but £13,650.
In 1821, there was another "watering" of the stock, and a call of £100
per share on the proprietors, which raised their capital to £200,000.
The Northwest Fur Company joined the Hudson's Bay Company in this year,
and the joint stock was declared to be £400,000.
We are ready to admit, in fact, the testimony in the case goes to prove,
that the French Northwest Company brought into the concern an equal
amount of capital with that of the Hudson's Bay Company. This would give
the present Hudson's Bay Company a real capital of £27,300, a nominal
capital of £400,000.
By reference to the memorial of the company, we find they claim, on the
8th of April, 1867, of our government:--
For the right to trade, of which the settlement of the country and
removal of Indians to reservations has deprived them, £200,000.
For the right of the free navigation of the Columbia River, £300,000.
For their forts, farms, posts, and establishments, with the buildings
and improvements, £285,350, making, in all, £785,350, or $3,822,036.67,
or £385,350 more than the whole amount of nominal stock which they claim
to have invested in their entire trade.
We will not stop to speak of the morality of this claim; it is made in
due form, and this with the claim as set forth in the same document, to
wit: For lands, farms, forts, and improvements, £190,000; loss of live
stock and other losses, £50,000; total, £240,000--equal to $1,188,000,
to be paid in gold. In British money these two sums amount to £1,025,350
sterling, in American dollars to $4,990,036.67; or £625,350 sterling
money more than their nominal stock, and £998,050 sterling more than all
their real stock invested.
It will be remembered that this demand is simply on account of the
settlement of Oregon by the Americans. A part of the posts for which
this demand is made are still in their undisputed possession, and a
large portion of the claim is set up in consequence of the loss of the
profits of the fur trade, of that portion of their business as conducted
in territory that originally belonged to the United States, and was
actually given up to them by the treaty of December 24, 1814.
The reader will bear in mind, that in the review or discussion of this
Hudson's Bay Company's claim on our government, we only refer to that
part of their trade, and the rights or privileges they were permitted to
enjoy, jointly with Americans, in what is now absolutely American
territory. Over two-thirds of their capital has always been employed in
territory that the American has not been permitted to enter, much less
to trade and form a settlement of any kind.
The witnesses on the part of the Hudson's Bay Company have been
forty-one in number. Of this number fifteen are directly interested in
the results of the award. Fourteen were brought to the country by, and
remained in the service of the company till they left the country; and
were all British, though some of them have become naturalized American
citizens. Twelve are American citizens, and are supposed to have no
particular interest in the results of the case; in fact, their
statements are all of a general and very indefinite character. Having
come to the country since 1850, they know but little or nothing about
the Hudson's Bay Company, its rights, policy, or interests there. Not
one of them appears, from the testimony given, to understand the
justness of the company's claim, or the injustice there would be in
allowing any part of it. Their testimony appears to be given under the
impression that because the treaty stipulated that the possessory
rights of the company were acknowledged and to be respected, that
therefore full payment must be paid the company for the right of trade,
and the prospective profits in trade, and the increased value of
assessable property for an indefinite period in the future. As, for
example, a witness is asked:--
"What is the present value per acre of the company's claims at
Cowlitz and Nasqualla, for farming and grazing purposes?"
_Ans._--"Supposing both claims to belong to the same person or
company, having a clear and undisputed title, and perfectly exempt
from molestation in the transaction of business, I think the Cowlitz
claim worth to-day thirty dollars an acre, and the Nasqualla claim
five dollars an acre, for farming and grazing purposes."
The fifteen interested witnesses all testify to about the same thing,
asserting positively as to the real value of the company's supposed
rights. One of the chief factors, in answer to the interrogatory, "State
the value of the post at Vancouver, as well in 1846 as since, until the
year 1863; give the value of the lands and of the buildings separately;
and state also what was the value of the post in relation to the other
posts, and as a center of trade," said:--
"It being the general depot for the trade of the company west of the
Rocky Mountains, in 1846 the establishment at Vancouver, with its
out-buildings, was in thorough order, having been lately rebuilt;
taking into account this post" (a notorious fact that but two new
buildings were about the establishment and in decent repair),
"together with the various improvements at the mill, on the mill
plain, on the lower plain, and at Sauvies Island, I should estimate
its value then to the company at from five to six hundred thousand
dollars."
The value of the land used by the company, at Fort Vancouver, in 1846,
say containing a frontage of twenty-five miles on the Columbia, by ten
miles in depth, in all two hundred and fifty square miles, or about
160,000 acres, I should calculate as being worth then, on an average,
from $2.50 to $3 an acre (at $2.50 would give us $400,000); this, with
the improvements, say $500,000, gives us, at this witness's lowest
estimate, $900,000 for the company's possessory rights.
This witness goes into an argument stating surrounding and probable
events, and concludes in these words: "I am clearly of opinion that had
the company entire control to deal with it as their own, without any
question as to their title, from the year 1846 and up to 1858, when I
left there, taking the fort as a center point, the land above and below
it, to the extent of three square miles, or 1,920 acres, with frontage
on the Columbia River, could have been easily disposed of for $250 per
acre ($480,000). The remainder of the land claim of the company at
Vancouver is more or less valuable, according to its locality; thus, I
consider the land on the lower plain, having frontage on the river for a
distance of five miles, or 3,200 acres, as worth $100 per acre
($320,000). Below that, again, to the Cathlapootl, a distance of
probably ten miles, with a depth of two miles, or 12,800 acres, is worth
$25 an acre ($320,000). Going above the fort plain, and so on to the
commencement of the claim, two miles above the saw-mill on the Columbia
River, say a distance of six or seven miles and back three miles, or
about 13,500 acres, should be worth from $10 to $15 per acre" ($135,000,
at $10, his lowest estimate). "The remainder of the claim is worth from
$1.50 to $3 per acre." It being 128,580 acres, at $1.50 per acre,
$192,580. This would make for the Vancouver property, as claimed, and
several witnesses have sworn the value to amount, as per summary of a
chief factor's testimony--
For the fort, buildings, farm and mill improvements $500,000
" 1,920 acres of land about the fort at $250 per acre 480,000
" 3,200 " below the fort, at $100 " " 320,000
" 12,800 " on lower plain, at $25 " " 320,000
" 13,500 " above the saw-mill, at $10 " " 135,000
" 128,580 " balance of claim, at $1.50 " " 192,580
This gives us the sum of $1,947,580 in gold coin, as the value of the
possessory rights of the honorable the Hudson's Bay Company to Fort
Vancouver and its immediate surroundings.
This chief factor's oath and estimate of the property is sustained by
the estimates and oaths of three other chief factors, amounting to about
the same sum. This one, after answering in writing, as appears in his
cross-examination, twenty sworn questions affirming to the facts and
truth of his knowledge of the claims and business of the company, etc.,
is cross-questioned (Interrogatory 477), by the counsel for the United
States, as follows: "Can you not answer the last interrogatory more
definitely?" The 476th interrogatory was: "Have you not as much
knowledge of what the company claimed in this direction as any other?"
The answer to the 477th interrogatory is: "Referring to my answer to the
last interrogatory, it will be at once seen that _I have no personal
knowledge_ as to what land the company actually claimed on that line _or
any other_, as regards the land in the neighborhood of Fort Vancouver.
This answer embraces even the present time."
There are several American witnesses introduced to prove this monstrous
claim, and to show the reasonableness and justness of their demand. I
will give a specimen of an answer given by one of them. After estimating
the amount of land in a similar manner to the witness above referred to,
calculating the land in four divisions, at $50, $10, and $1.25 per
acre, and 161,000 acres amounting to $789,625, without any estimate upon
the buildings or improvements, the following question was put to him:
"Have you any knowledge of the market value of land in the vicinity of
Vancouver, at any time since 1860?"
_Ans._--"I only heard of one sale, which was near the military reserve;
I think this was of 100 acres, and I understand brought $100 an acre. I
heard of this within the last few months, but nothing was said, that I
remember, about the time when the sale was made."
From the intelligence and official position of this American witness, we
are forced to the conclusion that the enriching effects of old Hudson's
Bay rum must have made him feel both wealthy and peculiarly liberal in
estimating the possessory rights of his Hudson's Bay Company friends.
There is one noticeable fact in relation to quite a number of the
witnesses called, and that have testified in behalf of the company's
claim. It is their ignorance--we may add, total ignorance--of the
general business, profits, and policy of the company. This remark will
apply to every witness whose deposition has been taken, including their
bookkeepers and clerks in London, and their chief factors in Oregon. Dr.
McLaughlin seems to have been the only man upon this coast that knew, or
that could give an intelligent account of its policy or its proceedings.
The whole Hudson's Bay Company concern appears like a great barrel,
bale, or box of goods, put up in London, and marked for a certain
district, servants and clerks sent along with the bales, and boxes, and
barrels of rum, to gather up all the furs and valuable skins they can
find all over the vast country they occupy, then bale up these furs and
skins and send them to London, where another set of clerks sell them and
distribute the profits on the sale of the furs.
As to the value of the soil, timber, minerals, or any improvements they
have ever seen or made in the country, they are as ignorant as the
savages of the country they have been trading with. _This ignorance is
real or willful._ The oaths of the two witnesses to which I have
referred show this fact beyond a doubt, they having been the longest in
the service, and attained a high position, and should know the most of
its business and policy.
There is one other American witness that has given his testimony in the
case of Puget Sound Agricultural Company _v._ United States. He came to
this country in 1853. In cross-interrogatory 55, he is asked: "In your
opinion, did not the agents of this company afford great protection to
the first settlers of this section of country by the exercise of their
influence over the different Indian tribes?"
_Ans._--"In my opinion, the officers of the company, being _educated
gentlemen_, have always exerted whatever influence they might have had
with the Indians to protect the whites of all nations in the early
settlement of the country."
This opinion is expressed by a gentleman having no knowledge of the
policy and proceedings of the company in relation to all American
settlers previous to his arrival in the country. He concludes that
because he, in his official transactions, having no occasion to ask or
receive the company's protection, was treated kindly, all others must
have been, as the company's officers were, in his opinion, "educated
gentlemen."
In answer to this last official American gentleman and his officious
opinion, as expressed on oath in this case, I will quote a statement,
under oath, of one of our old _bed-rock_ settlers, who came on to the
west side of the Rocky Mountains in 1829, twenty-four years previous to
the last witness, who pretends to know so much.
_Int. 7._--"What influence did the Hudson's Bay Company exercise over
the Indians in the section where you operated, with reference to the
American trappers and traders? State such facts as occur to you in this
connection."
_Ans._--"The Hudson's Bay Company exercised a great influence over the
western Indians; that is, the Cayuses, Nez Percés, Flatheads, and
Spokans, and others through these; they had no influence over the
Indians east of the Rocky Mountains at all, and away south they could do
almost any thing with the Indians. I know of one party that was robbed
by order of one of the Hudson's Bay Company men, the commander of Fort
Wallawalla (Wallula); the party was robbed, and the fur brought back to
the fort and sold. I was not with the party; that was my understanding
about the matter; and that was what the Indians said, and what the
whites said that were robbed." (A fact known to the writer.)
_Int. 13._--"Was it not generally understood among the American trappers
that the Hudson's Bay Company got a very large quantity of Jedediah
Smith's furs, for which he and they failed to account to the company to
which they belonged?" (Objected to, because it is leading, immaterial,
and hearsay.)
_Ans._--"It used to be said so among the trappers in the mountains,"
(and admitted by the company, as no correct account was ever rendered.)
_Int. 14._--"If you remember, state the quantity which was thus
reported." (Objected to as before.)
_Ans._--"It was always reported as about forty packs."
_Int. 15._--"Give an estimate of the value of forty packs of beaver at
that time."
_Ans._--"Forty packs of beaver at that time, in the mountains, was worth
about $20,000. I do not know what they would be worth at Vancouver."
_Int. 16._--"State whether the dispute about this matter was the cause
of the dissolution of the firm of Smith, Jackson & Sublet, to which you
refer in your cross-examination." (Objected to as above.)
_Ans._--"I do not know; that was the report among mountain men."
With these specimens of testimony on both sides, I will venture a
general statement drawn from the whole facts developed.
About the time, or perhaps one year before, the notice that the joint
occupancy of the country west of the Rocky Mountains was given by the
American government to that of the British, the Hudson's Bay Company, as
such, had made extensive preparations and arrangements to hold the
country west of the Rocky Mountains. This arrangement embraced a full
and complete organization of the Indian tribes under the various traders
and factors at the various forts in the country.
The probability of a Mexican war with the United States, and such
influences as could be brought to bear upon commissioners, or the
treaty-making power of the American government, would enable them to
secure this object. In this they failed. The Mexican war was
successfully and honorably closed. The Hudson's Bay Company's claims are
respected, or at least mentioned as in existence, in the treaty of 1846,
that the 49th parallel should be the boundary _of the two national
dominions_.
On the strength of their supposed possessory right, they remain quietly
in their old forts and French pig-pens, take a full inventory of their
old Indian salmon-houses, and watch the progress of American improvement
upon this coast, till 1863, when the American people are in the midst of
a death struggle for its civil existence. They then for the third time
"water" this monstrosity under the name of "'The International Financial
Society, limited,' are prepared to receive subscriptions for the issue
at par of capital stock in the Hudson's Bay Company, incorporated by
royal charter, 1670," fixing the nominal stock of the Hudson's Bay
Company at £2,000,000; and taking from this amount £1,930,000, they
offer it for sale under this new title in shares of £20 each, claiming
as belonging to them [_i.e._, the Hudson's Bay Company] 1,400,000
square miles, or upward of 896,000,000 acres of land, and, after paying
all expenses, an income of £81,000 in ten years, up to the 31st of
May--over four per cent. on the £2,000,000. This vast humbug is held up
for the English public to invest in,--a colonization scheme to enrich
the favored shareholders of that old English aristocratic humbug
chartered by Charles II. in 1670.
In the whole history of that company there has never been any
investigation of its internal policy so thorough as in the present
proceedings. In fact, this is the first time they have ventured to allow
a legal investigation into their system of trade and their rights of
property. They have grown to such enormous proportions, and controlled
so vast a country, that the government and treasury of the United States
has become, in their estimation, a mere appendage to facilitate their
Indian trade and financial speculations. From our recent purchases of
Russian territory, it becomes an important question to every American
citizen, and especially our statesmen, to make himself familiar with so
vast an influence under the British flag, and extending along so great
an extent of our northern frontier. Should they establish, by their own
interested and ignorant testimony, their present claims, there will be
no end to their unreasonable demands, for they have dotted the whole
continent with their trading-posts. They claim all that is supposed to
be of any value to savage and civilized man. The English nation without
its Hudson's Bay Company's old traps and hunting-parties would have no
claim west of the Rocky Mountains, yet, for the sake of these, it has
almost ventured a third war with our American people in sending from its
shores, instead of land pirates, under the bars and stars, the red flag
of the Hudson's Bay Company. The two flags should be folded together and
laid up in the British Museum, as a lasting monument of British
injustice.
I apprehend, from a careful review of all this testimony of the
forty-one witnesses who were on the part of the Hudson's Bay Company,
and the forty-two on the part of the United States, that the whole
policy of the company has been thoroughly developed; yet, at the same
time, without a long personal acquaintance with their manner of doing
business, it would be difficult to comprehend the full import of the
testimony given, though I apprehend the commissioners will have no very
difficult task to understand the humbuggery of the whole claim, as
developed by the testimony of the clerks in London and the investigation
at head-quarters. As to the amount of award, I would not risk one dollar
to obtain a share in all they get from our government. On the contrary,
a claim should be made against them for damages and trespass upon the
American citizens, as also the lives of such as they have caused to be
murdered by their influence over the Indians.
The telegraph has informed us that the commissioners have awarded to the
Hudson's Bay Company, $450,000, and to the Puget Sound concern,
$200,000. We have no change to make in our opinion of the commissioners
previously expressed, as they must have known, from the testimony
developed in the Puget Sound concern, that that part of the claim was a
fictitious one, and instituted to distract the public and divide the
pretensions to so large an amount in two parts. That the commissioners
should allow it can only be understood upon the principle that the
Hudson's Bay Company were entitled to that amount as an item of costs in
prosecuting their case.
No man at all familiar with the history of this coast, and of the
Hudson's Bay Company, can conscientiously approve of that award. Our
forefathers, in 1776, said "millions for defense, but not one cent for
tribute," which we consider this award to be,--for the benefit of
English duplicity and double-dealing, in the false representations they
made at the making of the treaty, and the perjury of their witnesses.
CHAPTER XI.
Quotation from Mr. Swan.--His mistake.--General Gibbs'
mistake.--Kamaiyahkan.--Indian agent killed.--I. I. Stevens
misjudged.
The gigantic fraud of slavery fell, in our own land, in the short space
of four years; but that of this company--holding and destroying as many
lives as the African slave trade--holds its own, and still lifts its
head, under the patronage of a professed Christian nation; and claims to
be an honorable company, while it robs and starves its unnumbered
benighted Indians, and shuts up half of North America from civilization.
At the same time it has obtained $650,000 for partially withdrawing its
continued robberies of the American Indians within the United States,
after implanting in the savage mind an implacable hatred against the
American people.
While we have our own personal knowledge on this point, we will give a
quotation from Mr. Swan's work, written in 1852, page 381, showing his
views of the subject, which are mostly correct; but, in speaking of the
trade of the Americans and of the Hudson's Bay Company, he says: "The
Indians preferred to trade with the Americans, for they kept one article
in great demand, which the Hudson's Bay people did not sell, and that
was whisky."
In this Mr. Swan is entirely mistaken. The Hudson's Bay people always
had liquor, and let the Indians have all they could pay for, as proved
by their own writer, Mr. Dunn. (See 12th chapter.) Mr. S. continues:
"Reckless, worthless men, who are always to be found in new settlements,
would give or sell whisky to the Indians, and then, when drunk, abuse
them. If the injury was of a serious nature, the Indian was sure to have
revenge; and should he kill a white man, would be certainly hanged, if
caught; but, although the same law operated on the whites, I have never
known an instance where a white man has been hanged for killing an
Indian." This has been my experience, Mr. Swan, for more than thirty
years, with the Hudson's Bay Company, or English. When a white man kills
an Indian, the tribe, or his friends, are satisfied with a present,
instead of the life of the murderer. It has been invariably the practice
with the Hudson's Bay Company to pay, when any of their people kill an
Indian, and to kill the Indian murderer; not so when an American is
killed. Says Mr. Swan: "The ill-feelings thus engendered against the
Americans, by this, and other causes, was continually _fanned and kept
alive by these half-breeds and old servants of the company_, whose
feelings were irritated by what they considered an unwarrantable
assumption on the part of these settlers, in coming across the mountains
to squat upon lands they considered theirs by right of prior occupancy.
_The officers of the company_ also sympathized with their old servants
in this respect, and a _deadly feeling of hatred had existed_ between
these officers and the American emigrant, for their course in taking
possession of the lands claimed by the Puget Sound Agricultural Company,
and other places on the Sound and the Columbia River; and there is not a
man among them who would not be glad to have had every American emigrant
driven out of the country." It is unnecessary to add examples of this
kind to prove to any reasonable mind the continued hostility of that
company, and all under its influence, to the American government and
people.
Can their friendship be bought by paying them the entire sum they claim?
We think not.
Whatever sum is given will go to enrich the shareholders, who will
rejoice over their success, as an Indian would over the scalp of his
enemy. The _implacable hatred will remain_, and nothing but
extermination, or a complete absorption of the whole continent into the
American republic, will close up the difficulty, and save a remnant of
the Indian tribes. This, to some, may not be desirable; but humanity and
right should, and will, eventually, prevail over crime, or any foreign
policy.
The American people are taunted by the Roman Jesuits and English with
having driven the Indian from his lands, and having occupied it
themselves; but how is it with the English? While the American has
attempted to gather the Indians into convenient communities, and spent
millions of dollars to civilize and better their condition, the English
nation, as such, has never given one dollar, but has chartered company
after company of merchants, traders, and explorers, who have entered the
Indian country under their exclusive charters, or license to trade, and
shut it up from all others. They have, in the profitable prosecution of
their trade, so managed as to exterminate all surplus and useless
Indians, and reduce them to easy and profitable control. Should one of
their half-breed servants, or a white man, attempt to expose their
system, or speak of their iniquitous policy, a great hue and cry is
raised against him, both in England and America, and he must fall,
either by a misinformed public or by savage hands, while they
triumphantly refer to the ease with which they exercise absolute
control over the Indians in their jurisdiction, as a reason why they
should be permitted to continue their exclusive occupation and
government of the country. Thus, for being forced partially to leave
that portion of Oregon south of the 49th parallel, they presumed to make
a claim against our government three times larger than the whole capital
stock of the two companies combined.
This hue and cry, and the public sentiment they have continued to raise
and control, has its double object. The one is to continue their
exclusive possession of, and trade in the country, the other is to
obtain all the money they can from the American government for the
little part of it they have professedly given up.
It will be remembered that in the investigation of their claims, and the
depositions given, it was stated that Forts Okanagon, Colville,
Kootanie, and Flathead, were still in their possession in 1866; that
Wallawalla, Fort Hall, and Boise were given up because they were
prohibited by the government from trading ammunition and guns to the
Indians. This means simply that the last-named posts were too far from
their own territory to enable them to trade in these prohibited
articles, and escape detection by the American authorities. The northern
posts, or those contiguous to the 49th parallel, are still occupied by
them. From these posts they supply the Indians, and send their
emissaries into the American territory, and keep up the "_deadly
hatred_," of which Mr. Swan speaks, and about which General Gibbs, in
his letter explaining the causes of the Indian war, is so much mistaken.
There is one fact stated by General Gibbs, showing the continued
combination of the Roman priests with the Hudson's Bay Company, which we
will give in this connection. He says: "The Yankamas have always been
opposed to the intrusion of the Americans." This is also a mistake of
Mr. Gibbs, as we visited that tribe in the fall of 1839, and found them
friendly, and anxious to have an American missionary among them. At that
time there had been no priest among them, and no combined effort of the
company to get rid of the American missionary settlements. Kamaiyahkan,
the very chief mentioned by General Gibbs as being at the head of the
combination against the Americans, accompanied us to Dr. Whitman's
station, to urge the establishment of an American mission among his
people.
General Gibbs says, that, "as early as 1853, Kamaiyahkan had projected a
war of extermination. Father Pandosa, the priest at Atahnam (Yankama)
mission, in the spring of that year, wrote to Father Mesplie, the one at
the Dalls, desiring him to inform Major Alvord, in command at that post,
of the fact. Major Alvord reported it to General Hitchcock, then in
command on this coast, Hitchcock _censured_ him as an _alarmist_, and
Pandosa was _censured_ by his superiors, who forthwith placed a priest
of higher rank over him."
The next year, Indian agent Bolon was killed, and the war commenced. How
did General Hitchcock learn that Pandosa, a simple-hearted priest, and
Major Alvord were alarmists? The fact of the censure, and placing a
priest of higher rank over Pandosa at the Yankama station (the very
place we selected in 1839 for an American station), is conclusive
evidence on this point.
"The war of extermination," that General Gibbs, in his mistaken ideas of
Hudson's Bay policy and Indian character, attributes to the policy of
Governor I. I. Stevens, was commenced in 1845. At that time, it was
supposed by James Douglas, Mr. Ogden, and the ruling spirits of that
company, that all they had to do was to withhold munitions of war from
the Americans, and the Indians would do the balance for them.
The Indian wars that followed, and that are kept up and encouraged along
our borders, and all over this coast, are the legitimate fruits of the
"DEADLY HATRED" implanted in the mind and soul of the Indian BY THE
HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY AND THEIR ALLIES, THE PRIESTS. There is an object
in this: while they teach the Indians to believe that the Americans are
robbing them of their lands and country, they at the same time pretend
that they do not want it.
Like Bishop Blanchet with the Cayuses, they "only want a small piece of
land to raise a little provisions from," and they are continually
bringing such goods as the Indians want; and whenever they are ready to
join their forces and send their war-parties into American territory,
this company of _honorable English fur traders_ are always ready to
supply them with arms and ammunition, and to purchase from them the
goods or cattle (including scalps, in case of war between the two
nations) they may capture on such expeditions.
The more our government pays to that company, or their fictitious agent,
the more means they will have to carry on their opposition to American
commerce and enterprise on this coast. Should they obtain but one-third
of their outrageous claim, it is contemplated to invest it, with their
original stock, in a new company, under the same name, Honorable
Hudson's Bay Company, and to extend their operations so as to embrace
not only the fur, but gold and grain trade, over this whole western
coast.
Will it be for the interests of this country to encourage them? Let
their conduct and proceeding while they had the absolute control of it
answer, and prove a timely warning to the country before such vampires
are allowed to fasten themselves upon it.
CHAPTER XII.
Review of Mr. Greenhow's work in connection with the conduct and
policy of the Hudson's Bay Company.--Schools and
missionaries.--Reasons for giving extracts from Mr. Greenhow's
work.--Present necessity for more knowledge about the company.
As stated by General Gibbs, Mr. Greenhow has given us a complete history
of the discovery of Oregon. At the point where he leaves us the reader
will observe our present history commences. We did not read Mr.
Greenhow's very elaborate and interesting history till ours had been
completed in manuscript. On reading it, we found abundant proof of
statements we have made respecting the policy of the British government
to hold, by the influence of her Hudson's Bay Company, the entire
country west of the Rocky Mountains that was not fully occupied by the
Russian and Spanish governments.
This fact alone makes our history the more important and interesting to
the American reader. Mr. Greenhow, upon pages 360 and 361 of his work,
closes the labors of the eleven different American fur companies with
the name of Captain Nathaniel Wyeth, and upon these two pages introduces
the American missionaries, with the Roman Jesuits, though the latter did
not arrive in the country till four years after the former.
On his 388th page, after speaking of various transactions relative to
California, the Sandwich Islands, and the proceedings in Congress
relative to the Oregon country, he says: "In the mean time, the Hudson's
Bay Company had been doing all in its power to extend and confirm its
position in the countries west of the Rocky Mountains, from which its
governors felicitated themselves with the idea that they had expelled
the Americans entirely."
Page 389. "The object of the company was, therefore, to place a large
number of British subjects in Oregon within the shortest time, and, of
course, to exclude from it as much as possible all people of the United
States; so that when the period for terminating the convention with the
latter power should arrive, Great Britain might be able to present the
strongest title to the possession of the whole, on the ground of actual
occupation by the Hudson's Bay Company. To these ends the efforts of
that company had been for some time directed. The immigration of British
subjects was encouraged; the Americans were by all means excluded; _and
the Indians were brought as much as possible into friendship with, and
subject to, the company, while they were taught to regard the people of
the United States as enemies!_"
In a work entitled "Four Years in British Columbia," by Commander R. C.
Mayne, R. N., F. R. G. S., page 279, this British writer says: "I have
also spoken of the intense hatred of them all for the Boston men
(Americans). This hatred, although nursed chiefly by the cruelty with
which they are treated by them, is also owing in a great measure to the
system adopted by the Americans of removing them away from their
villages when their sites become settled by whites. The Indians often
express dread lest we should adopt the same course, and have lately
petitioned Governor Douglas on the subject."
Commander Mayne informs us, on his 193d page, that in the performance of
his official duties among the Indians, "recourse to very strong
expressions was found necessary; and they were threatened with the
undying wrath of Mr. Douglas, whose name always acts as a talisman with
them."
We shall have occasion to quote statements from members of the Hudson's
Bay Company, and from Jesuit priests, further confirming the truth of
Mr. Greenhow's statement as above quoted. It would be gratifying to us
to be able, from our long personal experience and observations relative
to the policy and conduct of the Hudson's Bay Company, to fully confirm
the very plausible, and, if true, honorable treatment of the aborigines
of these countries; but truth, candor, observation, our own and other
personal knowledge, compel us to believe and know that Mr. Greenhow is
entirely mistaken when he says, on his 389th page, speaking of the
Hudson's Bay Company:--
"In the treatment of the aborigines of these countries, the Hudson's
Bay Company _admirably combined and reconciled humanity with
policy_. In the first place, its agents were strictly prohibited
from furnishing them with ardent spirits; and there is reason to
believe that the prohibition has been carefully enforced.
"Sunday, March 11, 1852," says Mr. Dunn, one of their own servants,
"Indians remained in their huts, perhaps praying, or more likely
singing over the _rum_ they had traded with us on
Saturday.----Tuesday, April 26.--Great many Indians on
board.----Traded a number of skins. They seem to like _rum_ very
much.----May 4.--They were all _drunk_; went on shore, made a fire
about 11 o'clock; being then all drunk began firing on one
another.----June 30.--The Indians are bringing their blankets--their
skins are all gone; they seem very fond of _rum_.----July 11.--They
traded a quantity of _rum_ from us."
The Kingston _Chronicle_, a newspaper, on the 27th of September, 1848,
says: "The Hudson's Bay Company have, in some instances _with their
rum_, traded the goods given in presents to the Indians by the Canadian
Government, and afterward so traded the same with them at an advance of
little short of a thousand per cent."
Question asked by the Parliamentary Committee: "Are intoxicating liquors
supplied in any part of the country--and where?" The five witnesses
answered:--
1st. "At every place where he was."
2d. "All but the Mandan Indians were desirous to obtain intoxicating
liquor; _and the company supply them with it freely_."
3d. "At Jack River I saw liquor given for furs."
4th. "At York Factory and Oxford House."
5th. The fifth witness had seen liquor given "at Norway House only."
The writer has seen liquor given and sold to the Indians at every post
of the company, from the mouth of the Columbia to Fort Hall, including
Fort Colville, and by the traveling traders of the company; so that
whatever pretensions the company make to the contrary, the proof is
conclusive, that they traffic in liquors, without any restraint or
hinderance, all over the Indian countries they occupy. That they charge
this liquor traffic to renegade Americans I am fully aware; at the same
time I know they have supplied it to Indians, when there were no
Americans in the country that had any to sell or give.
In the narrative of the Rev. Mr. King, it is stated that "the agents of
the Hudson's Bay Company are not satisfied with putting so insignificant
value upon the furs, that the more active hunters only can gain a
support, which necessarily leads to the death of the more aged and
infirm by starvation and cannibalism, but they encourage the intemperate
use of ardent spirits."
Says Mr. Alexander Simpson, one of the company's own chief traders:
"That body has assumed much credit for the discontinuance of the sale of
spirituous liquors at its trading establishments, but I apprehend that
in this matter it has both claimed and received more praise than is its
due. The issue of spirits has not been discontinued by it on principle,
indeed it has not been discontinued at all when there is a possibility
of diminution of trade through the Indians having the power to resent
this deprivation of their accustomed and much-loved annual
jollification, by carrying their furs to another market."
This means simply that Mr. Greenhow and all other admirers of the
Hudson's Bay Company's manner of treating Indians have been humbugged by
their professions of "_humanity and policy_."
We are inclined to return Mr. Greenhow's compliment to the Rev. Samuel
Parker in his own language, as found on the 361st page of his work. He
says: "Mr. Samuel Parker, whose journal of his tour beyond the Rocky
Mountains, though highly interesting and instructive, would have been
much more so had he confined himself to the results of his own
experience, and not wandered into the region of history, diplomacy, and
cosmogony, in all of which he is evidently a stranger." So with Mr.
Greenhow, when he attempts to reconcile the conduct of the Hudson's Bay
Company with "_humanity_," and admires their policy, and gives them
credit for honorable treatment of "Indians, missionaries, and settlers,"
he leaves his legitimate subject of history and diplomacy, and goes into
the subject of the Hudson's Bay Company's moral _policy_, to which he
appears quite as much a "stranger" as Mr. Samuel Parker does to those
subjects in which Mr. Greenhow found him deficient.
But, notwithstanding we are inclined to return Mr. Greenhow's compliment
in his own language, his historical researches and facts are invaluable,
as developing a deep scheme of a foreign national grasping disposition,
to hold, by a low, mean, underhanded, and, as Mr. Greenhow says, "false
and malicious course of misrepresentation, the country west of the Rocky
Mountains." There are a few pages in Mr. Greenhow's history that,--as
ours is now fully written, and we see no reason to change a statement we
have made,--for the information of our readers, and to correct what we
conceive to be an erroneous impression of his relative to our early
settlements upon this coast, we will quote, and request our readers to
observe our corrections in the history or narration of events we have
given them.
"Schools for the instruction of their children, and hospitals for
their sick, were established at all their principal trading-posts;
each of which, moreover, afforded the means of employment and
support to Indians disposed to work in the intervals between the
hunting seasons."
Says the Rev. Mr. Barnley, a Wesleyan missionary at Moose Factory, whose
labors commenced in June, 1840, and continued till September, 1847: "A
plan which I had devised for educating and turning to some acquaintance
with agriculture, native children, was disallowed,----it being very
distinctly stated by Sir George Simpson, that the company would not give
them even a spade toward commencing their new mode of life."
Says Mr. Greenhow: "_Missionaries of various sects were encouraged to
undertake to convert these people to Christianity, and to induce them to
adopt the usages of civilized life_, so far as might be consistent with
the nature of the labors in which they are engaged; care being at the
same time taken to instill into their minds due respect for the
company, and for the sovereign of Great Britain; and attempts were
made, at great expense, though with little success, to collect them into
villages, or tracts where the soil and climate are favorable to
agriculture."
Mr. Barnley says: "At Moose Factory, where the resources were most
ample, and where was the seat of authority in the southern department of
Rupert's Land, the _hostility_ of the company (and not merely their
inability to aid me, whether with convenience or inconvenience to
themselves) was most manifest."
Another of the English missionaries writes in this manner: "When at York
Factory last fall (1848), a young gentleman boasted that he had
succeeded in starting the Christian Indians of Rossville off with the
boats on a Sunday. Thus every effort we make for their moral and
spiritual improvement is frustrated, and those who were, and still are,
desirous of becoming Christians, are kept away; the pagan Indians
desiring to become Christians, but being made drunk on their arrival at
the fort, 'their good desires vanish.' The Indians professing
Christianity had actually exchanged one keg of rum for tea and sugar, at
one post, but the successive offers of liquor betrayed them into
intoxication at another."
The Rev. Mr. Beaver, chaplain of the company at Fort Vancouver, in 1836,
writes thus to the Aborigines Protection Society, London, tract 8, page
19:--
"For a time I reported to the governor and committee of the company
in England, and to the governor and the council of the company
abroad, the result of my observations, with a view to a gradual
amelioration of the wretched degradation with which I was
surrounded, by an immediate attempt at the introduction of
civilization and Christianity, among one or more of the aboriginal
tribes; but my earnest representations were neither attended to nor
acted upon; no means were placed at my disposal for carrying out the
plan which I suggested."
Mr. Greenhow says, page 389: "Particular care was also extended to the
education of the half-breed children, the offspring of the marriage or
the concubinage of the traders with the Indian women, who were retained
and bred as much as possible among the white people, and were taken into
the service of the company, whenever they were found capable. There
being few white women in those countries, it is evident that these
half-breeds must, in time, form a large, if not an important portion of
the inhabitants; and there is nothing to prevent their being adopted and
recognized as British subjects.
"The conduct of the Hudson's Bay Company, in these respects, is
worthy of _commendation_; and may be contrasted most favorably with
that pursued at the present day by civilized people toward the
aborigines of all other new countries."
It is a most singular fact, that while Mr. Greenhow was writing the
above high commendation of the conduct and policy of the Hudson's Bay
Company, in relation to their treatment of Indians and missionaries
under their absolute control, that that company were driving from their
posts at Moose Factory and Vancouver, their own Wesleyan and Episcopal
missionaries, and doing all they could to prevent the settlement or
civilization of the Indians, or allowing any missionary intercourse with
them, except by foreign Roman Jesuits, and were actually combining the
Indians in Oregon to destroy and defeat civil and Christian efforts
among the Indians and American settlements then being established in the
country. Page 390, Mr. Greenhow further says: "The course pursued by the
Hudson's Bay Company, with regard to American citizens in the territory
west of the Rocky Mountains, was equally _unexceptionable_ and
_politic_. The missionaries and immigrants from the United States, or
from whatever country they might come, were received at the
establishments of the company with the utmost kindness, and were aided
in the prosecution of their respective objects, _so far and so long as
those objects were not commercial_; but no sooner did any person,
unconnected with the company, attempt to hunt, or trap, or trade with
the Indians, than all the force of the body was turned against him."
The statement in the last part of the foregoing paragraph can be
attested by more than one hundred American hunters and traders, who have
felt the full force of that company's influence against them; as also by
missionaries and settlers on first arriving in the country. But Mr.
Greenhow says: "There is no evidence or reason to believe that violent
measures were ever employed, either directly or indirectly, for this
purpose; nor would such means have been needed while the company enjoyed
advantages over all competitors, such as are afforded by its wealth, its
organization, and the skill and knowledge of the country, and of the
natives, possessed by its agents." This is simply an assertion of Mr.
Greenhow, which our future pages will correct in the mind of any who
have received it as truth. It is unnecessary to pursue Mr. Greenhow's
history of the Hudson's Bay Company respecting their treatment of
American or English missionaries or American settlers; the statements we
have quoted show fully his want of a correct knowledge of the practices
of that company in dealing with savage and civilized men. We only claim
for ourselves close observation and deeply interested participation in
all that relates to Oregon since 1832, having been permitted to be
present at the forming of its early civil settlement and political
history. This work of Mr. Greenhow's appears to be peculiarly political
as well as strongly national, and in the passages we have quoted, with
many other similar ones, he seems to us to have written to catch the
patronage of this foreign English corporation, which, according to his
own showing, has been an incubus upon the English, and, so far as
possible, the Americans also. While he shows his utter ignorance of
their internal policy and history, his researches in the history of the
early discoveries on this western coast are ample And most useful as
vindicating our American claim to the country. But as to its settlement
and civilization, or its early moral or political history, as he says of
Mr. Samuel Parker, "in all of which he is evidently a stranger."
Our reasons for giving the extracts from Mr. Greenhow's work are--
1st. That the reader may the better understand what follows as our own.
2d. To avoid a future collision or controversy respecting statements
that may be quoted from him to contradict or controvert our own,
respecting the policy and practices of the Hudson's Bay Company, which,
Mr. Greenhow says, page 391, "did no more than they were entitled to do.
If the Americans neglected or were unable to avail themselves of the
benefits secured to both nations by the convention, the fault or the
misfortune was their own, and they had no right to complain." If this is
true, as against the American, what right has the Hudson's Bay Company
to complain and ask pay for what had been rendered worthless to them by
the American settlement of the country?
"The hospitable treatment extended to them [American citizens] by the
agents of the Hudson's Bay Company was doubtless approved by the
directors of that body; and all who know Messrs. McLaughlin and Douglas,
the principal managers of the affairs of that body on the Columbia,
unite in testifying that the humanity and generosity of those gentlemen
have been always carried as far as their duties would permit. That their
conduct does not, however, meet with universal approbation among the
servants of the company in that quarter, sufficient evidence may be
cited to prove." He quotes John Dunn's book, chap. 12.
Mr. Greenhow wrote his history with the light then existing, _i.e._, in
1844. About that time Dr. McLaughlin was called to an account by the
directors of the Hudson's Bay Company, in London. He explained to them
his position, and the condition of the Americans, who came to this
country both naked and hungry, and that, as a man of common humanity, he
could do no less than he did. The directors insisted upon the
enforcement of their stringent rule, which was, to starve and drive
every American from the country. He then told them: "_If such is your
order, gentlemen, I will serve you no longer._" As to Mr. Douglas, we
have no such noble sentiment to record in his behalf; he belonged to
that English party called by Mr. Greenhow "_Patriots_." He says: "There
were two parties among the British in Oregon, the _Patriots_ and the
_Liberals_, who, while they agreed in holding all Americans in utter
detestation, as _knaves_ and _ruffians_, yet differed as to the
propriety of the course pursued with regard to them by the company. The
_Patriots_ maintained, that kindness showed to the people of the United
States was thrown away, and would be badly requited; that it was merely
nurturing a race of men, who would soon rise from their weak and humble
position, as grateful acknowledgers of favors, to the bold attitude of
questioners of the authority of Great Britain, and her right, even to
Vancouver itself; that if any attempts were made for the conversion of
the natives to Christianity, and to the adoption of more humanized
institutions (which they limited to British institutions), a solid and
permanent foundation should be laid; and for that purpose, if
missionaries were to be introduced, they should come within the direct
control of the dominant power, that is, the British power, and should be
the countrymen of those who actually occupied Oregon, etc. The
_Liberals_, while admitting all that was said on the other side, of the
character of the Americans, nevertheless charitably opined that those
people should not be excluded, as they possessed some claim, 'feeble,
but yet existing,' to the country, and until 'these were quashed or
confirmed, it would be unjust and impolite' to prevent them from all
possession; _that these missionaries, though bad_, were better than
none; and that good would grow out of evil in the end, for the
Americans, by their intercourse with the British, _would become more
humanized, tolerant, and honest_."
As most of the above sentiment relative to the two English parties in
the country appears to be quoted by Mr. Greenhow from some author, it
would be interesting to know who he is; still, the fact is all that is
essential to know, and we have reason to believe and know that the
sentiments expressed were entertained by the controlling authority of
the company in London and in Oregon; and that Messrs. Douglas and Ogden,
and the Roman priests under their patronage, acted fully up to them as
Roman and British Jesuits, there is no question; and under such
circumstances, it is not surprising that the immigration from the United
States in 1843, '44, and '45, should increase that feeling of hostility
and hatred of the American settlement and civilization in the country.
We do not propose at present to speak of the action of the American
Congress relative to Oregon, but, as will be seen, to connect and bring
into our own history such allusions of Mr. Greenhow as serve to
illustrate and prove the several propositions we have stated respecting
the early history of its settlement, and also to prepare the reader to
understand in a manner the combined influences that were ready to
contest any claim or effort any American company or citizen might make
for the future occupation of the country.
It will be seen that no company of settlers or traders could have
succeeded, having arrived in advance of the American missionaries. They
were unquestionably the only nucleus around which a permanent settlement
could have been formed, eleven different American fur companies having
commenced and failed, as will be shown; and although Mr. Greenhow seems
to regard and treat the American missionary effort with contempt, yet
impartial history will place them in the foreground, and award to them
an honorable place in counteracting foreign influences and saving the
country to its rightful owners.
It will be seen by the preliminary and following remarks and narrative
of events, and by a careful study of all the histories and journals to
which we have had occasion to refer, or from which we have quoted a
statement, that the forming, civilizing, and political period in our
Oregon history is all a blank, except that the Hudson's Bay Company were
the patron saints, the noble and generous preservers of the "_knaves_"
and "_ruffians_" that came to this country to rob them of their pious
and humane labors to civilize their accomplished native "concubines."
That, according to their ideas, the missionaries, such as came from the
United States, "_though bad_," could become "_humanized_, _tolerant_,"
and even "_honest_," by associating with such noble, generous, tolerant,
virtuous, and pure-minded traders as controlled the affairs of that
company, under the faithfully-executed and stringent rules of the
honorable directors in London.
At the present time there is an additional important reason for a better
understanding and a more thorough knowledge of the influences and
operations of this British monopoly than formerly. Notwithstanding they
have been driven from Oregon by its American settlement, they have
retired to British Columbia, and, like barnacles upon a ship's bottom,
have fastened themselves all along the Russian and American territories,
to repeat just what they did in Oregon; and, with the savage hordes with
whom they have always freely mingled, they will repeat their
depredations upon our American settlements, and defeat every effort to
civilize or Christianize the natives over whom they have any influence.
Six generations of natives have passed away under their system of trade
and civilization. The French, English, and Indians before our American
revolution and independence could not harmonize. The French were driven
from their American possessions and control over the Indians, and peace
followed. The Indians, English, and Americans can not harmonize; they
never have, and they never will; hence, it becomes a question of vast
moment, not only to the Indian race, but to the American people, as to
the propriety and expediency of allowing the English nation or British
or foreign subjects to further exercise any influence among our American
Indians.
Mr. A. H. Jackson estimates the expense of our Indian wars, since 1831
to the present time, at one thousand millions of dollars and
thirty-seven thousand lives of our citizens, not counting the lives of
Indians destroyed by our American wars with them. If the reader will
carefully read and candidly judge of the historical facts presented in
the following pages, we have no fears but they will join us in our
conclusions, that the Monroe doctrine is irrevocably and of necessity
fixed in our American existence as a nation at peace with all, which we
can not have so long as any foreign sectarian or political organizations
are permitted to have a controlling influence over savage minds. A
Frenchman, an Englishman, a Mormon, a Roman priest, any one, or all of
them, fraternizing as they do with the Indian, can work upon his
prejudices and superstitions and involve our country in an Indian
war--which secures the Indian trade to the British fur company. This is
the great object sought to be accomplished in nearly all the wars our
government has had with them.
One other remarkable fact is noted in all our Indian wars, the American
or Protestant missionaries have been invariably driven from among those
tribes, while the Roman Jesuit missionaries have been protected and
continued among the Indians, aiding and counseling them in the
continuance of those wars. It is no new thing that ignorance,
superstition, and sectarian hate has produced such results upon the
savage mind, and our Oregon history shows that a shrewd British fur
company can duly appreciate and make use of just such influences to
promote and perpetuate their trade on the American continent.
CHAPTER XIII.
Occupants of the country.--Danger to outsiders.--Description of
missionaries.
In 1832, this entire country, from the Russian settlement on the north
to the gulf of California on the south, the Rocky Mountains on the east
to the Pacific Ocean on the west, was under the absolute and undisputed
control of the Honorable Hudson's Bay Company; and the said company
claimed and exercised exclusive civil, religious, political, and
commercial jurisdiction over all this vast country, leaving a narrow
strip of neutral territory between the United States and their assumed
possessions, lying between the Rocky Mountains and the western borders
of Missouri. Its inhabitants were gentlemen of the Hudson's Bay
Company,--their clerks, traders, and servants,--consisting mostly of
Canadian-French, half-breeds, and natives.
Occasionally, when a venturesome Yankee ship or fur trader entered any
of the ports of the aforesaid country for trade, exploration, or
settlement, this honorable company asserted its licensed and exclusive
right to drive said vessel, trader, explorer, or settler from it. Should
he be so bold as to venture to pass the trained bands of the wild
savages of the mountains, or, even by accident, reach the sacred
trading-ground of this company, he was helped to a passage out of it, or
allowed to perish by the hand of any savage who saw fit to punish him
for his temerity.
While this exclusive jurisdiction was claimed and exercised by the
company, four wild, untutored Indians of the Flathead tribe learned from
an American trapper, who had strayed into their country, that there was
a Supreme Being, worthy of worship, and that, by going to his country,
they could learn all about him. Four of these sons of the wilderness
found their way to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1832. Mr. Catlin, a
celebrated naturalist and artist, I believe not a member of any
religious sect, learned the object that had brought these red men from
the mountains of Oregon, and gave the fact to the religious public.
This little incident, though small in itself, resulted in the
organization, in 1833, of the Missionary Board of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, the appointment of Rev. Jason Lee and associates, to
the establishment of the Methodist Mission in the Wallamet Valley in
1834, the appointment of Rev. Samuel Parker and Dr. Marcus Whitman, by
the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, to explore
the country in 1835, and the establishment of a mission by said Board in
1836.
Rev. Jason Lee, of Stansted, Canada East, a man of light hair, blue
eyes, fair complexion, spare habit, above ordinary height, a little
stoop-shouldered, with strong nerve and indomitable will, yet a meek,
warm-hearted, and humble Christian, gaining by his affable and easy
manners the esteem of all who became acquainted with him, was the first
to volunteer.
Rev. Daniel Lee, a nephew of Jason, was the second;--the opposite of the
former in every particular--of medium height. The general impression of
outsiders was, that his moral qualities were not of the highest order,
yet it is not known that any specific charges were ever brought against
him.
Cyrus Shepard, a lay member, was a devoted Christian, and a faithful
laborer for the advancement of the objects of the mission and the
general welfare of all in the country. We have never learned that he had
an enemy or a slanderer while he lived in it. On his first arrival he
taught the Hudson's Bay Company's school at Vancouver, consisting of
children belonging to persons in the employ of the company, till the
mission buildings were ready, when he gathered a large school of Indian
and French half-breed children, and was quite successful in teaching the
rudiments of an English education. Rev. D. Lee and Mr. Shepard were from
New England.
Mr. P. L. Edwards, of Missouri, also a lay member, was of the company.
But little is known of him; the inducements to become a permanent
settler in the country do not appear in his case.
Rev. Samuel Parker, of Ithaca, New York, a man of good education and
refinement, and exceedingly set in his opinions and conclusions of men
and things, came to explore the country, and report to the American
Board as to the feasibility of establishing missions among the Indians,
one of the missionaries of the American Board, from the Sandwich
Islands, having visited the coast in an American ship, several years
previous, and made an unfavorable report on account of the fur-trade
influence against American traders, giving the impression that American
missionaries would not be tolerated in the country.
Mr. Parker was inclined to self-applause, requiring his full share of
ministerial approbation or respect, though not fully qualified to draw
it cheerfully from an audience or his listeners; was rather fastidious.
Dr. Marcus Whitman, of Rushville, New York, sent in company with Mr.
Parker to explore the country. A man of easy, _don't-care_ habits, that
could become all things to all men, and yet a sincere and earnest man,
speaking his mind before he thought the second time, giving his views on
all subjects without much consideration, correcting and changing them
when good reasons were presented, yet, when fixed in the pursuit of an
object, adhering to it with unflinching tenacity. A stranger would
consider him fickle and stubborn, yet he was sincere and kind, and
generous to a fault, devoting every energy of his mind and body to the
welfare of the Indians and objects of the mission; seldom manifesting
fears of any danger that might surround him, at times he would become
animated and earnest in his argument or conversation. In his profession
he was a bold practitioner, and generally successful. He was above
medium height; of spare habit; peculiar hair, a portion of each being
white and a dark brown, so that it might be called iron-gray; deep blue
eyes, and large mouth.
The peculiarities of Messrs. Parker and Whitman were such, that, when
they had reached the rendezvous on Green River, in the Rocky Mountains,
they agreed to separate; not because Dr. Whitman was not willing and
anxious to continue the exploring expedition, in company with Mr.
Parker, but because Mr. P. could not "put up" with the off-hand,
careless, and, as he thought, slovenly manner in which Dr. Whitman was
inclined to travel. Dr. W. was a man that could accommodate himself to
circumstances; such as dipping the water from the running stream with
his hand, to drink; having but a hunter's knife (without a fork) to cut
and eat his food; in short, could _rough it_ without qualms of stomach.
Rev. Mr. Parker had left a refined family circle, and his habits had
become somewhat delicate from age and long usage in comfortable and
agreeable society; hence his peculiar habits were not adapted to Rocky
Mountain travel in those early days. Still, the great object on which
they were sent must not be lost sight of. Their sense of moral
obligation was such, that a reason must be given why Dr. Whitman returns
to the States, and Mr. Parker proceeds alone on his perilous journey to
this then unknown country. Here again the wild Indian comes in, by
instinct, order, or providence (as the unbeliever may choose to call
it), and offers to take charge of this delicate old gentleman, and
carries him in triumph through the Rocky Mountains, and all through his
country, and, in Indian pomp and splendor, delivers this rev. "_black
coat_" to P. C. Pambrun, Esq., chief clerk of the Honorable Hudson's Bay
Company, at old Fort Wallawalla, supplying his every want on the
journey, caring for his horses and baggage, not asking or receiving any
thing, except such presents as Mr. Parker chose to give them on the way
and at parting.
Dr. Whitman, it will be remembered, was associated with Mr. Parker,
under the direction of the American Board. They had arrived at the
rendezvous in the Rocky Mountains; most of the Nez Percés were at the
American rendezvous. Ish-hol-hol-hoats-hoats, a young Nez Percé Indian
(named by the American trappers, _Lawyer_, on account of his shrewdness
in argument, and his unflinching defense of American against British and
foreign influences), having learned of their arrival, came to them and
settled matters quite satisfactorily to both, by requesting Mr. Parker
to go with them to their country, they having heard of Rev. Mr. Lee and
party going to settle near the _husus-hai-hai_ (White Head), as the
natives called Dr. John McLaughlin, in the Wallamet Valley. They
consented to let the Doctor take two of their boys. To Ites he gave the
name of John; Tuetakas he called Richard. Dr. Whitman was to go to the
States, report to the American Board, and procure associates and the
material to establish a mission in the Nez Percé country.
The Nez Percés were to take charge of Mr. Parker, and carry him forward
in his explorations, and meet Dr. W., on his return next year, at the
place of rendezvous in the mountains, to conduct him and his party to
the place Mr. Parker might select for a mission establishment. Rev. S.
Parker, in company with the Indians, went on, and Dr. Whitman, with his
two Indian boys, with the American Fur Company, Capts. Fitzpatrick,
Bridger, and others, started on their way to the States, or "home from
the Rocky Mountains." Dr. Whitman, by his off-hand, easy manner of
accommodating himself to circumstances, and by his kind-heartedness and
promptness to relieve all who needed his professional skill, had won the
esteem of all with whom he traveled, so that the gentlemen of the
American Fur Company cheerfully supplied his wants on his return trip to
the States, where he arrived in due time, made his report to the
American Board, who decided to establish the mission, as per arrangement
with Parker and Whitman, on separating in the Rocky Mountains.
Mrs. Whitman, formerly Miss Narcissa Prentiss, of Prattsburg, Steuben
County, New York, was a lady of refined feelings and commanding
appearance. She had very light hair, light, fresh complexion, and light
blue eyes. Her features were large, her form full and round. At the time
she arrived in the country, in the prime of life, she was considered a
fine, noble-looking woman, affable and free to converse with all she
met. Her conversation was animated and cheerful. Firmness in her was
natural, and to some, especially the Indians, it was repulsive. She had
been brought up in comparative comfort, and moved in the best of
religious society in the place of her residence. She was a good singer,
and one of her amusements, as well as that of her traveling companions,
was to teach the Doctor to sing, which she did with considerable
success,--that is, he could sing the native songs without much
difficulty.
The American Board appointed Rev. H. H. Spalding and wife to accompany
Dr. Whitman and wife, to aid in establishing the Nez Percé mission. Mr.
Spalding and wife had just completed their preparatory course of
education in Lane Seminary, near Cincinnati, Ohio.
The first impression of the stranger on seeing H. H. Spalding is, that
he has before him an unusual countenance. He begins to examine, and
finds a man with sharp features, large, brown eyes, dark hair, high,
projecting forehead, with many wrinkles, and a head nearly bald. He is
of medium size, stoop-shouldered, with a voice that can assume a mild,
sharp, or boisterous key, at the will of its owner; quite impulsive, and
bitter in his denunciations of a real, or supposed enemy; inclined in
the early part of his missionary labors to accumulate property for the
especial benefit of his family, though the practice was disapproved of
and forbidden by the regulations of the American Board. In his
professional character he was below mediocrity. As a writer or
correspondent he was bold, and rather eloquent, giving overdrawn
life-sketches of passing events. His moral influence was injured by
strong symptoms of passion, when provoked or excited. In his labors for
the Indians, he was zealous and persevering, in his preaching or talking
to them, plain and severe, and in his instructions wholly practical. For
instance, to induce the natives to work and cultivate their lands, he
had Mrs. Spalding paint a representation of Adam and Eve, as being
driven from the garden of Eden by an angel,--Adam with a hoe on his
shoulder, and Eve with her spinning-wheel. He taught the natives that
God commanded them to work, as well as pray. Had he been allowed to
continue his labors with the tribe, undisturbed by sectarian and
anti-religious influences, he would have effected great good, and the
tribe been now admitted as citizens of the United States. As a citizen
and neighbor he was kind and obliging; to his family he was kind, yet
severe in his religious observances. He was unquestionably a sincere,
though not always humble, Christian. The loss of his wife, and the
exciting and savage massacre of his associates, produced their effect
upon him. Charity will find a substantial excuse for most of his faults,
while virtue and truth, civilization and religion, will award him a
place as a faithful, zealous, and comparatively successful missionary.
Mrs. Spalding was the daughter of a plain, substantial farmer, by the
name of Hart, of Oneida County, New York. She was above the medium
height, slender in form, with coarse features, dart brown hair, blue
eyes, rather dark complexion, coarse voice, of a serious turn of mind,
and quick in understanding language. In fact she was remarkable in
acquiring the Nez Percé language, so as to understand and converse with
the natives quite easily by the time they reached their station at
Lapwai. She could paint indifferently in water-colors, and had been
taught, while young, all the useful branches of domestic life; could
spin, weave, and sew, etc.; could prepare an excellent meal at short
notice; was generally sociable, but not forward in conversation with or
in attentions to gentlemen. In this particular she was the opposite of
Mrs. Whitman. With the native women Mrs. Spalding always appeared easy
and cheerful, and had their unbounded confidence and respect. She was
remarkable for her firmness and decision of character in whatever she or
her husband undertook. She never appeared to be alarmed or excited at
any difficulty, dispute, or alarms common to the Indian life around her.
She was considered by the Indian men as a brave, fearless woman, and was
respected and esteemed by all. Though she was frequently left for days
alone, her husband being absent on business, but a single attempted
insult was ever offered her. Understanding their language, her cool,
quick perception of the design enabled her to give so complete and
thorough a rebuff to the attempted insult, that, to hide his disgrace,
the Indian offering it fled from the tribe, not venturing to remain
among them. In fact, a majority of the tribe were in favor of hanging
the Indian who offered the insult, but Mrs. Spalding requested that they
would allow him to live, that he might repent of his evil designs and do
better in future. In this short sketch of Mrs. Spalding the reader is
carried through a series of years. We shall have occasion, as we
progress in our sketches, to refer to these two ladies. They are not
fictitious characters,--they lived; came over the Rocky Mountains in
1836; they are dead and buried, Mrs. Spalding near the Callapooya, in
the Wallamet Valley. Mrs. Whitman's remains, such portions of them as
could be found, are buried not far from the place of her labors among
the Cayuses. The last time we passed the ground not even a common board
marked the place. We noticed a hollow in the ground, said to be the
place where the very Rev. Mr. Brouillet, vicar-general of Wallawalla,
says "the bodies were all deposited in a common grave which had been dug
the day previous by Joseph Stanfield, and, before leaving, I saw that
they were covered with earth, but I have since learned that the graves,
not having been soon enough inclosed, had been molested by the wolves,
and that some of the corpses had been devoured by them." Bear this
statement in mind, reader, as we proceed. We will tell you just how much
he knows of the why and wherefore such things occurred in those early
times. A part of the facts are already in history.
Messrs. Whitman and Spalding, with their wives, and a reinforcement for
the Pawnee mission, made their way to Liberty Landing, on the Missouri
River. At that place they were joined by a young man by the name of W.
H. Gray, from Utica, New York, who was solicited by the agents of the
American Board to join this expedition as its secular agent.
CHAPTER XIV.
Missionary outfit.--On the way.--No roads.--An English nobleman.--A
wagon taken along.--Health of Mrs. Spalding.--Meeting mountain men
and Indians.--A feast to the Indians.
The mission party had brought with them a full supply of all the
supposed _et cæteras_ for a life and residence two thousand miles from
any possible chance to renew those supplies when exhausted, having the
material for a blacksmith shop, a plow, and all sorts of seeds,
clothing, etc., to last for two years. Gray found his hands full in
making calculations for the transportation of this large amount of
baggage, or goods, as the trader would say. In a few days wagons, teams,
pack-mules, horses, and cows, were all purchased in the county of
Liberty, Missouri, the goods all overhauled, repacked, loaded into the
two mission wagons, and an extra team hired to go as far as Fort
Leavenworth. Spalding and Gray started with the train, three wagons,
eight mules, twelve horses, and sixteen cows, two men, two Indian boys,
and the man with the extra team. Dr. Whitman, having the ladies in
charge, was to come up the Missouri River in the first boat, and await
the arrival of the train having the greater portion of the goods with
it. Boats on the Missouri River not being so numerous as at the present
time, the Doctor and party did not reach Leavenworth till the train had
arrived. They rearranged their goods, discharged the extra team, held a
consultation, and concluded that the Doctor and ladies would keep the
boat to Council Bluffs, the point from which the American Fur Company's
caravan was to start that year. Learning that the company was to start
in six days, the conclusion was that the cattle and goods had better
proceed as fast as possible.
The third day, in the morning, some forty miles from Fort Leavenworth,
as we were about starting, a white boy, about sixteen years old, came
into camp, having on an old torn straw hat, an old ragged fustian coat,
scarcely half a shirt, with buckskin pants, badly worn, but one
moccasin, a powder-horn with no powder in it, and an old rifle. He had
light flaxen hair, light blue eyes, was thin and spare, yet appeared in
good health and spirits. He said he had started for the Rocky Mountains;
he was from some place in Iowa; he had been without food for two days;
he asked for some ammunition; thought he could kill some game to get
along; the rain the night previous had wet him quite effectually; he was
really cold, wet, nearly naked, and hungry. He was soon supplied from
our stores with all he wanted, and advised to return to his friends in
Iowa. To this he objected, and said if we would allow him he would go
with us to Council Bluffs, and then go with the fur company to the
mountains. He agreed to assist all he could in getting along. He was
furnished a horse, and made an excellent hand while he remained with the
party, which he did till he reached Fort Hall, on Snake River. There he
joined a party that went with the Bannock Indians, and became a member
of that tribe, and, as near as we can learn, married a native woman
(some say three), and is using his influence to keep the tribe at war
with the United States. Of this we have no positive knowledge, though if
such is the fact he may have been a deserter from Fort Leavenworth. His
name was Miles Goodyear.
Within thirty miles of Council Bluffs a messenger overtook the
missionary caravan, and stated that Mrs. Satterley, of the Pawnee
mission, was dead; that Dr. Whitman and ladies were left at Fort
Leavenworth; that they were coming on as fast as possible, with extra
teams, to overtake us. Our party went into camp at once; the two wagons
with horse teams started back to meet and bring up the balance of the
party; wait two days at Omaha; fix one of the wagon boxes for a
ferry-boat; Doctor and party arrive; cross all safe; get to camp late in
the night. There was a slight jar in the feelings of some on account of
haste, and slowness of movement, in others. However, as the fur company,
with whom the mission party was to travel, was to start on a certain
day, haste was absolutely necessary, and no time to be lost. Useless
baggage overhauled and thrown away, cows started, mules and wagons
loaded; Gray in charge of mules and cows, Spalding driver for a
two-horse light wagon, Whitman the four-horse farm wagon. On goes the
caravan; in two hours a message goes forward to Gray that Spalding has
driven his wagon into a mud stream and broken his axletree; Gray goes
back; soon repairs axletree by a new one; on Platte River; rains as it
only can on that river, cold and almost sleet; nothing but a skin boat,
that could carry but two trunks and one lady at a time; all day swimming
by the side of the boat to get goods over; swim cattle, mules, and
horses all over safe to north side.
Overhaul and lighten our baggage; Rev. Mr. Dunbar for pilot, three men,
and two Indian boys, we hasten on to overtake fur company's caravan.
Second day, met one hundred Pawnee warriors on their way to Council
Bluff agency. Mr. Dunbar being the missionary of the Pawnees, and
understanding their language, we had no difficulty with them. Traveling
early and late, we came up to the fur company at the Pawnee village,
some two hours after their caravan had arrived and camped.
At this point the missionary menagerie was first exhibited, not that
they attempted to make any display, or posted any handbills, or charged
any fee for exhibiting, but the strange appearance of two white ladies
in a caravan consisting of rough American hunters, Canadian packers with
Indian women, with all the paraphernalia of a wild mountain expedition,
drew the attention of all. The mission party had with them some fine
cows, good horses and mules, and were tolerably well fitted out for
their expedition, except a superabundance of useless things, causing
much perplexity and hard labor to transport over the rough plains in
1836.
It will be borne in mind that at that early time there was no road,--not
even a trail or track, except that of the buffalo; and those made by
them were invariably from the river, or watering-places, into the hills
or bluffs. Their trails being generally deep, from long use by the
animal, made it quite severe and straining upon our teams, wagons, and
the nineteen carts the fur company carried their goods in that year. The
caravan altogether consisted of nineteen carts, with two mules to each,
one in the shafts and one ahead, one light Dearborn wagon, two mules and
two wagons belonging to an English nobleman, his titles all on, Sir
William Drummond, K. B., who had come to the United States to allow his
fortune to recuperate during his absence. He had been spending his
winters in New Orleans with the Southern bloods, and his bankers in
England complained that his income was not sufficient to meet his large
expenditures; he was advised to take a trip to the Rocky Mountains,
which would occupy him during the summer and sickly season, during which
time he could only spend what he had with him, and could have a fine
hunting excursion. This English nobleman with his party consisted of
himself and a young English blood. I did not learn whether he was of the
first, second, third, or fourth grade in the scale of English nobility;
be that as it may, Sir William D., K. B., messed and slept in the same
tent with this traveling companion of his, who, between them, had three
servants, two dogs, and four extra fine horses, to run and hunt the
buffalo. Occasionally, they would give chase to that swiftest of
mountain animals, the antelope, which, in most instances, would,
especially where the grass was short, leave them in the distance, when
Sir William and his companion would come charging back to the train,
swearing the antelope could outrun a streak of lightning, and offering
to bet a thousand pounds that if he had one of his English 'orses he
could catch 'em. The English nobleman, as a matter of course, was
treated with great respect by all in the caravan; while in the presence
of the ladies he assumed quite a dignified carriage, being a man (excuse
me, your honor), a lord of the British realm, on a hunting excursion in
North America, in the Rocky Mountains, in the year A.D. 1836. He was
about five feet nine inches high. His face had become thin from the free
use of New Orleans brandy, rendering his nose rather prominent, showing
indications of internal heat in bright red spots, and inclining a little
to the rum blossom, that would make its appearance from the sting of a
mosquito or sand-fly, which to his lordship was quite annoying. Though
his lordship was somewhat advanced in years, and, according to his own
account, had traveled extensively in the oriental countries, he did not
show in his conversation extensive mental improvement; his general
conversation and appearance was that of a man with strong prejudices,
and equally strong appetites, which he had freely indulged, with only
pecuniary restraint. His two wagons, one with two horses, the other with
four mules, with drivers, and a servant for cook and waiter, constituted
his train--as large as his means would permit on that trip. All of the
carts and wagons were covered with canvas to protect the goods from
storms. Sir William traveled under the _alias_ of Captain Stewart.
The order of march was as follows: Cattle and loose animals in advance
in the morning, coming up in rear at night; fur company and Captain
Stewart's teams in advance; mission party in rear till we reached Fort
Laramie. All went smoothly and in order. At the Pawnee village the fur
company was short of meat or bacon. Arrangements were made to slaughter
one of the mission cows, and replace it at Laramie. Two days from Pawnee
village the hunters brought into camp some bull buffalo meat; next day
cow buffalo meat in abundance. Not far from Scott's Bluff, passed some
hunters on their way down Platte River in boats; arrive at Fort Laramie,
just above the mouth of that river; cross the Platte in two dug-outs,
lashed together with sticks and poles, so as to carry the goods and
carts all over to the fort. At that establishment the company and
Captain Stewart leave all their wagons and carts except one, deeming it
impracticable to proceed further with them.
On account of the ladies, Dr. Whitman insisted on taking one of the
mission wagons along. The fur company concluded to try the experiment
with him, and took one of their carts along. Overhaul all the baggage,
select out all, that, with the knowledge any one had of the future wants
of the mission party, could be dispensed with; put the balance up in
packages of one hundred pounds each; for the top packs, fifty pounds;
for mules, two hundred and fifty pounds; for horses, in proportion to
strength. About the first of June, 1836, the caravan started from
Laramie. All the goods on pack animals, wagon and cart light, Gray in
charge of mission pack-train, with two men and one boy, two pack animals
each; Spalding of cows, loose animals, and ladies, with the two Indian
boys to assist in driving; Dr. Whitman in charge of the wagon train,
consisting of the fur company's cart and mission wagon; but one man in
the cart and one in the wagon. On we go; the first day from Laramie had
some difficulty in getting through a cotton-wood bottom on the river, on
account of fallen timber in the trail. Whitman came into the camp
puffing and blowing, in good spirits, all right side up, with only one
turn over with the wagon and two with the cart. The fur company being
interested in exploring a wagon route to Green River, next day gave the
Doctor two additional men to assist in exploring and locating the road,
and getting the wagon and cart over difficult places. Second day all
right; train moves on; hunters in advance; cattle usually traveling
slower than the train, were started in the morning in advance of the
train, which usually passed them about one hour before reaching camp at
night; at noon they usually all stop together. At the crossing of Platte
below Red Buttes, in the Black Hills, kill buffalo, took hides, made
willow frames for boats, sewed the hides together to cover the frames,
used tallow for pitch, dried the skin boats over a fire, the rain having
poured down all the time we were getting ready to cross. However, as
fortune always favors the brave, as the saying is, it did us this time,
for in the morning, when our boats were ready, it cleared up, the sun
came out bright and clear, so that we had a fine time getting all things
over. Next day on we moved, over the hills, through the valleys, around
and among the salt pits to a willow grove to camp.
With the company was a gentleman from St. Louis, a Major Pilcher. He
usually rode a fine white mule, and was dressed in the top of hunting or
mountain style, such as a fine buckskin coat trimmed with red cloth and
porcupine quills, fine red shirt, nice buckskin pants, and moccasins
tinged and nicely trimmed; he was, in fact, very much of a gentleman in
all his conversation and deportment. The major was also considerable of
a gallant (as I believe most titled gentlemen are). He was proceeding
around one of those clay salt pits, and explaining to the ladies their
nature and danger, when suddenly mule, major and all dropped out of
sight, except the mule's ears and the fringe on the major's coat.
Instantly several men were on hand with ropes, and assisted the major
and mule out of the pit. _Such a sight!_ you may imagine what you
please, I will not attempt to describe it. However, no particular harm
was done the major, only the thorough saturation of his fine suit of
buckskin, and mule, with that indescribably adhesive mud. He took it all
in good part, and joined in the jokes on the occasion. No other
remarkable incident occurred till we arrived at Rock Independence. On
the south end of that rock nearly all the prominent persons of the party
placed their names, and date of being there.
Later wagon trains and travelers have complained, and justly, of sage
brush and the difficulties of this route. Whitman and his four men
opened it as far as they could with a light wagon and a cart. To him
must be given the credit of the first practical experiment, though
Ashtley, Bonneville, and Bridger had taken wagons into the Rocky
Mountains and left them, and pronounced the experiment a failure, and a
wagon road impracticable. Whitman's perseverance demonstrated a great
fact--the practicability of a wagon road over the Rocky Mountains. You
that have rolled over those vast plains and slept in your Concord
coaches or Pullman palace cars, have never once imagined the toil and
labor of that old off-hand pioneer, as he mounted his horse in the
morning and rode all day in the cold and heat of the mountains and
plains, to prove that a wagon road was practicable to the waters of the
Columbia River. Even Fremont, seven years after, claims to be the
discoverer of the passes through which Whitman took his cart and wagon,
and kept up with the pack-train from day to day.
From Rock Independence the health of Mrs. Spalding seemed gradually to
decline. She was placed in the wagon as much as would relieve her, and
changed from wagon to saddle as she could bear, to the American
rendezvous on Green River.
From Rock Independence information was sent forward into the mountains
of the arrival of the caravan, and about the time and place they
expected to reach the rendezvous. This information reached not only the
American trapper and hunter in the mountains, but the Snake, Bannock,
Nez Percé, and Flathead tribes, and the traders of the Hudson's Bay
Company. Two days before we arrived at our rendezvous, some two hours
before we reached camp, the whole caravan was alarmed by the arrival of
some ten Indians and four or five white men, whose dress and appearance
could scarcely be distinguished from that of the Indians. As they came
in sight over the hills, they all gave a yell, such as hunters and
Indians only can give; whiz, whiz, came their balls over our heads, and
on they came, in less time than it will take you to read this account.
The alarm was but for a moment; our guide had seen a white cloth on one
of their guns, and said, "Don't be alarmed, they are friends," and sure
enough, in a moment here they were. It was difficult to tell which was
the most crazy, the horse or the rider; such hopping, hooting, running,
jumping, yelling, jumping sage brush, whirling around, for they could
not stop to reload their guns, but all of us as they came on gave them a
salute from ours, as they passed to the rear of our line and back again,
hardly stopping to give the hand to any one. On to camp we went.
At night, who should we find but old Takkensuitas and
Ish-hol-hol-hoats-hoats (Lawyer), with a letter from Mr. Parker, which
informed the party that he had arrived safely at Wallawalla, and that
the Indians had been kind to him, and from what he had seen and could
learn of them, they were well disposed toward all white men. Mr. Parker,
as his journal of that trip and observations will show, was a man of
intelligence, and a close observer of men and things.
He soon learned, on arriving at Wallawalla, that there was a bitter
anti-American feeling in the country, and that, notwithstanding he had
arrived in it uninvited, and without the aid of the _Honorable_ Hudson's
Bay Company, he was in it, nevertheless, as the guest of the Nez Percé
Indians. They had found him in the Rocky Mountains; they brought him to
Wallawalla; they had received him, treated him kindly, and proved to him
that they were not only friendly, but anxious to have the American
influence and civilization come among them. Rev. Jason Lee and party
were in the country. Abundance of unasked advice was given to him by
Hudson's Bay Company's men; his caution prevailed; he was to let Dr.
Whitman, or the mission party that might be sent across the mountains,
hear from him by the Indians. Feeling certain that any advice or
information he might attempt to communicate to his missionary friends
would in all probability be made use of to their detriment, and perhaps
destroy the mission itself, he did not deem it prudent to write or to
give any advice. Should any party come on before he could reach them,
his note was sufficient to inform them of the fact of his safe arrival
and the friendly treatment he had received of the Indians; further than
this he did not feel safe to communicate--not for want of confidence in
the Indians, but from what he saw and learned of the feelings of the
Hudson's Bay Company. Yet he felt that, notwithstanding they were
showing him outwardly every attention, yet they evidently did not wish
to see the American influence increase in any shape in the country.
Rev. Mr. Parker's letter, short and unsatisfactory as it was, caused
considerable expression of unpleasant feeling on the part of those who
considered they had a right to a more full and extended communication.
But Mr. Parker was at Vancouver, or somewhere else; they might and they
might not meet him; he may and he may not have written more fully.
At supper time old Takkensuitas (Rotten Belly) and
Ish-hol-hol-hoats-hoats were honored with a place at the missionary
board. With your permission, ladies and gentlemen, I will give you the
bill of fare on this memorable occasion. Place--by the side of a muddy
stream called Sandy, about thirty miles south of Wind River Mountain.
This mountain, you will remember, is about as near the highest point of
the North American continent as can be. This fact is established, not
from geographical or barometrical observations, but from the simple fact
that water runs from it by way of the Missouri, Colorado, and Columbia
rivers into the eastern, southern, and western oceans, and but a short
distance to the north of this mountain commences the waters of the
Saskatchewan River, running into Hudson's Bay and the northern ocean.
There are doubtless many other mountains whose peaks ascend higher into
the clouds, but none of them supply water to so vast an extent of
country, and none of them are so decidedly on top of the continent as
this one. Of course our little party is in a high altitude, and in sight
of this mountain, which may or may not have been ten thousand feet
higher to its snow-capped peaks. Date--about the 20th day of July, 1836.
Our table was the grass beside this muddy stream; cloth--an old broken
oil-cloth badly used up; plates--when the company started were called
tin, but from hard usage were iron in all shapes; cups--ditto;
knives--the common short-bladed wooden-handled butcher knife; forks--a
stick each cut to suit himself, or, if he preferred the primitive mode
of conveying his food to its proper destination, he was at liberty to
practice it; food extra on this occasion--a nice piece of venison, which
the Indians had presented to the ladies, a piece of broiled and roast
buffalo meat, roasted upon a stick before the fire, seasoned with a
little salt, with a full proportion of sand and dirt. Dr. Whitman was
inclined to discard the use of salt entirely; as to dirt and sand it was
a matter upon which he and Mr. Parker differed on the trip the year
previous, though Mrs. Whitman took sides with Mr. Parker against the
Doctor, and with the assistance of Mrs. Spalding, the Doctor was kept in
most cases within reasonable distance of comfortable cleanliness. On
this occasion tea, with sugar, was used; the supply of bread was
limited; we will not trouble the reader with an extra list of the
dessert. Of this feast these sons of the wilderness partook with
expressions of great satisfaction. The Lawyer, twenty-seven years after,
spoke of it as the time when his heart became one with the _Suapies_
(Americans).
CHAPTER XV.
Arrival at American rendezvous.--An Indian procession.--Indian
curiosity to see white women.--Captain N. Wyeth.--McCleod and T.
McKay.--Description of mountain men.--Their opinion of the
missionaries.
In two days' easy travel we arrived at the great American rendezvous,
held in an extensive valley in the forks formed by Horse Creek and Green
River, on account of the abundance of wood, grass, and water all through
the valley. Each party selected their own camp grounds, guarding their
own animals and goods, as each felt or anticipated the danger he might
be exposed to at the time. We will pass through this city of about
fifteen hundred inhabitants--composed of all classes and conditions of
men, and on this occasion two classes of women,--starting from a square
log pen 18 by 18, with no doors, except two logs that had been cut so as
to leave a space about four feet from the ground two feet wide and six
feet long, designed for an entrance, as also a place to hand out goods
and take in furs. It was covered with poles, brush on top of the poles;
in case of rain, which we had twice during our stay at the rendezvous,
the goods were covered with canvas, or tents thrown over them. Lumber
being scarce in that vicinity, floors, doors, as well as sash and glass,
were dispensed with. The spaces between the logs were sufficient to
admit all the light requisite to do business in this primitive store. At
a little distance from the store were the camps of the fur company, in
which might be seen the pack-saddles and equipage of the mules, in piles
to suit the taste and disposition of the men having them in charge. The
trading-hut was a little distance from the main branch of Green River,
so situated that the company's mules and horses could all be driven
between the store and the river, the tents and men on either side, the
store in front, forming a camp that could be defended against an attack
of the Indians, in case they should attempt any thing of the kind. Green
River, at the point where our city in the mountains is situated, is
running from the west due east. West of the fur company's camp or store
were most of the camps of the hunters and trappers; east of it, close to
the river, was the missionary camp, while to the south, from one to
three miles distant along Horse Creek, from its junction with Green
River, where the Snake and Bannock Indians were camped, to six miles up
that stream, were the camps of the Flatheads and Nez Percés. All these
tribes were at peace that year, and met at the American rendezvous. The
Indian camps were so arranged in the bends of the creek that they could
defend themselves and their horses in case of any attack from the
neighboring tribes, and also guard their horses while feeding in the
day-time. The whole city was a military camp; every little camp had its
own guards to protect its occupants and property from being stolen by
its neighbor. The arrow or the ball decided any dispute that might
occur. The only law known for horse-stealing was death to the thief, if
the owner or the guard could kill him in the act. If he succeeded in
escaping, the only remedy for the man who lost his horse was to buy, or
steal another and take his chances in escaping the arrow or ball of the
owner, or guard. It was quite fashionable in this city for all to go
well armed, as the best and quickest shot gained the case in dispute. Of
the number assembled, there must have been not far from one hundred
Americans,--hunters and trappers; about fifty French, belonging
principally to the caravan; some five traders; about twenty citizens, or
outsiders, including the mission party. The Snakes and Bannocks mustered
about one hundred and fifty warriors; the Nez Percés and Flatheads,
about two hundred. By arrangement among themselves they got up a grand
display for the benefit of their white visitors, which came off some six
days after our American caravan had arrived at the rendezvous.
The procession commenced at the east or lower end of the plain in the
vicinity of the Snake and Bannock camps. The Nez Percés and Flatheads,
passing from their camps down the Horse Creek, joined the Snake and
Bannock warriors, all dressed and painted in their gayest uniforms, each
having a company of warriors in war garb, that is, naked, except a
single cloth, and painted, carrying their war weapons, bearing their war
emblems and Indian implements of music, such as skins drawn over hoops
with rattles and trinkets to make a noise. From the fact that no scalps
were borne in the procession, I concluded this must be entirely a peace
performance, and gotten up for the occasion. When the cavalcade,
amounting to full five (some said six) hundred Indian warriors (though I
noticed quite a number of native belles covered with beads), commenced
coming up through the plain in sight of our camps, those of us who were
not informed as to the object or design of this demonstration began to
look at our weapons and calculate on a desperate fight. Captain Stewart,
our English nobleman, and Major Pilcher waited on the mission ladies and
politely informed them of the object of the display; they assured them
there would be no danger or harm, and remained at their tents while the
cavalcade passed. Mrs. Whitman's health was such that she could witness
most of the display. Mrs. Spalding was quite feeble, and kept her tent
most of the time. All passed off quietly, excepting the hooting and
yelling of the Indians appropriate to the occasion.
The display over, the mission camp around the tent was thronged. On
first hearing the war-whoop, the savage yell, and the sound of the
Indian war drum, all parties not in the secret of this surprise party,
or native reception for their missionaries, at once drove in their
animals, and prepared for the worst; hence the mission cows, horses, and
camp, were all together. Major Pilcher and Captain Stewart enjoyed the
surprise of the party, and were equally delighted with the effect and
surprise manifested by the Indians, as they approached the mission camp.
The wagon, and every thing about their camp, was examined. The Indians
would pass and repass the tent, to get a sight of the two women
belonging to the white men. Mrs. Spalding, feeble as she was, seemed to
be the favorite with the Indian women; possibly from that fact alone she
may have gained their sympathy to some extent. The Lawyer and
Takkensuitas were constant visitors at the tent. Their Indian wives were
with them, and showed a disposition to do all in their power to assist
the missionaries. Mrs. Spalding's rest from the fatigues of the journey
soon enabled her to commence a vocabulary of the Indian language. Mrs.
Whitman also commenced one with her, but she was often interrupted by
the attentions thought necessary to be paid to gentlemen callers. Excuse
me, whoever believes that thirty-three years since there were no
gentlemen on top of the Rocky Mountains. I can assure you that there
were, and that all the refined education and manners of the daughter of
Judge Prentiss, of Prattsburg, Steuben County, N. Y., found abundant
opportunity to exhibit the cardinal ornaments of a religious and
civilized country. No one, except an eye-witness, can appreciate or
fully understand the charm there was in those early days in the sight of
the form and white features of his mother. The rough veteran mountain
hunter would touch his hat in a manner absolutely ridiculous, and often
fail to express a designed compliment, which the mischief or good-humor
of Mrs. Whitman sometimes enjoyed as a good joke. In consequence of
these attentions or interruptions, she did not acquire the native
language as fast as Mrs. Spalding, who showed but little attention to
any one except the natives and their wives.
The Indian curiosity had not fully subsided before the company were
introduced to, and cordially greeted by, Captain Wyeth, who had been to
the lower Columbia on a trading expedition. He had conducted Rev. Jason
Lee and party to Fort Hall, where he had established a trading-post;
thence he had gone to the lower country, received his goods from the
brig _May Dacre_, made arrangements with the Hudson's Bay Company, sold
his goods and establishment at Fort Hall to the Hudson's Bay Company,
and was then on his way back to the States. Captain Wyeth, in all his
motions and features, showed the shrewd Yankee and the man of business.
He politely introduced the mission party to Messrs. John McLeod and
Thomas McKay, of the Hudson's Bay Company. After the usual etiquette of
introduction and common inquiries, Messrs. McLeod and McKay having
retired to their camps, Captain W. entered into a full explanation of
the whys and wherefores of Rev. Mr. Parker's short note, confirming the
observations and suspicions of Mr. Parker, in reference to the treatment
the missionaries might expect, giving a full statement of the feelings
and efforts of the Hudson's Bay Company to get rid of all American
influence, and especially traders. Turning, with a smile, upon the
ladies, but addressing the gentlemen, he said, "You gentlemen have your
wives along; if I do not greatly mistake the feelings of the gentlemen
of the Hudson's Bay Company, they will be anxious to have their
influence in teaching their own wives and children, and you will meet
with a different reception from any other American party that has gone
into the country." It would be useless to add in this sketch that the
advice of Captain W. was of incalculable value in shaping the policy and
conduct of the mission of the American Board in their necessary
transactions and intercourse with the Hudson's Bay Company. Captain W.
had fallen in with Rev. S. Parker, but could give no definite
information about him or his plans, except that he was on his return to
the United States, by way of the Sandwich Islands.
As we have never seen a description of these semi-civilized men, that in
youth had left their native countries, and found themselves thousands of
miles away, in the midst of the Rocky Mountains, surrounded on all sides
by wild, roving bands of savages, cut off from communication with
civilization, except by the annual return of the fur company's traders,
or occasional wandering to some distant trading-post, a thousand or five
hundred miles from the borders of any State or settlement, we will at
this time introduce to the reader several men as we found them at this
American rendezvous, most of them finding their way eventually into the
settlement of Oregon, and becoming active and prominent men in the
organization of the provisional government, as also good citizens. Among
these veteran Rocky Mountain hunters was a tall man, with long black
hair, smooth face, dark eyes (inclining to turn his head a little to one
side, as much as to say, "I can tell you all about it"), a
harum-scarum, don't-care sort of a man, full of "life and fun in the
mountains," as he expressed it. He came and paid his respects to the
ladies, and said he had been in the mountains several years; he had not
seen a white woman for so long he had almost forgotten how they looked.
He appeared quite fond of telling "yarns." In the conversation, Mrs.
Whitman asked him if he ever had any difficulty or fights with the
Indians. "That we did," said he. "One time I was with Bridger's camp; we
were traveling along that day, and the Blackfeet came upon us. I was
riding an old mule. The Indians were discovered some distance off, so
all the party put whip to their horses and started to get to a place
where we could defend ourselves. My old mule was determined not to move,
with all the beating I could give her, so I sung out to the boys to stop
and fight the Indians where we were; they kept on, however. Soon, my old
mule got sight of the Blackfeet coming; she pricked up her ears, and on
she went like a streak, passed the boys, and away we went. I sung out to
the boys, as I passed, 'Come on, boys, there is no use to stop and fight
the Indians here.'" Fun and firmness were the two prominent
characteristics of this young mountain hunter. He expressed a wish and a
determination to visit and settle in lower Oregon (as the Wallamet
Valley was then called). He had a native wife, and one son, just
beginning to speak a few words. The father seemed, on my first noticing
him, to be teaching this son of his to say "God d----n you," doubtless
considering this prayer the most important one to teach his son to
repeat, in the midst of the wild scenes with which he was surrounded.
Though, to his credit be it said, this same wild, youthful mountaineer
has become a good supporter of religious society, and has a respectable
family, in an interesting neighborhood, near Forest Grove, in Oregon.
We will call these mountain hunters by numbers, for convenience, as we
shall refer to them in our future political sketches, in which they
participated.
No. 2. A man of medium height, black hair, black whiskers, dark-brown
eyes, and very dark complexion; he was formerly from Kentucky. (I am not
positive.) He was quite fond of telling yarns; still, as he was not
considered very truthful, we will only give the story as we have it of
the manner in which he and the one we will give as No. 3 obtained their
titles. 2 and 3 were traveling together; 3 was from Cincinnati, Ohio.
They had reached Independence, Mo.; says 3 to 2, "Titles are very
necessary here in Missouri, what titles shall we take?" "Well," says 2,
"I will take _Major_." 3 says, "I will take _Doctor_." Very good. They
rode up to the best hotel in the place and called for lodgings.
2. "Well, Doctor, what shall we have for supper?"
3. "I don't care, Major, so as we get something to eat."
The Major and the Doctor enjoyed their supper and have borne their
titles to the present time. The Major has never been, from all I could
learn of him, a very truthful man or reliable citizen. He spent several
years in Oregon and in the mountains, and found his way back to
Missouri. The Doctor is now a resident of Idaho. The most remarkable
trait in his composition is story-telling, or yarns, and a disposition
to make friends of all political parties, or join all religious
sects--something of a good lord and good devil order. He appeared in
those early times to belong to that party that paid him the best. He was
first in the employ of the American Fur Company, but appeared to lend
his influence to the Hudson's Bay Company. He also had a native wife of
the Nez Percé tribe, and was considered by the Hudson's Bay Company a
useful man to divide the American influence in trade with the Indians in
the mountains, and equally useful to distract and divide the political
influence of the early settlers. By his connection with the natives in
marriage, the Hudson's Bay Company in trade, and good lord and good
devil principles, he could adapt himself to the Protestant or Catholic
religion, and in this manner become a kind of representative man,
something like _strong lye and aquafortis mixed_, and just about as
useful as such a mixture would be. He succeeded, by political
maneuvering, or as the sailors say, "boxing the compass," to fill a
place and draw a salary from Uncle Sam; carrying out the principles he
has acted upon in his whole life, his efforts have been to neutralize
what good others might do.
No. 4. A young man from Ohio, of a serious turn of mind; at least I
concluded this to be the case, from the fact that he asked of the ladies
if they had any books to sell, or that they could spare. A nice
pocket-bible was given him, for which he politely expressed his thanks,
after offering to pay for it. The pay, of course, was declined, as a few
bibles were brought along for distribution. This young man, in a few
years, followed the mission party and became a settler and a prominent
man in the provisional government.
No. 5. A wild, reckless, don't-care sort of a youth, with a Nez Percé
wife, so thoroughly attached to Indian ideas and customs that he has
felt it beneath his dignity to turn from the ancient habits of the
Indian to a "more recent invention" of religion and civilization. His
curiosity was a little excited, which induced him to pay his respects to
the missionaries, on account of their wives. He called on them, and
spoke of some day finding his way somewhere down about where the
missionaries might be located; as he had bought him a Nez Percé wife,
she might want to go and see her people, and he might make up his mind
to go and settle. This man, from his utter disregard for all moral and
civilized social relations, has coiled himself up in the tribe he
adopted, and spit out his venomous influence against all moral and civil
improvement, training his children so that the better portion of the
natives treat them with contempt. For a time he had considerable
influence in shaping government policy toward the tribe and securing his
own personal Indian position, to the injury of all other interests. I am
unable to say how he obtained his title of colonel, unless it was from
the influence he once pretended to have with the Indians, and a
disposition on the part of those of his countrymen to title those who
aspire to such honors.
No. 6. What the miners nowadays would call a "plain, honest farmer,"
with a native wife and one child. He called on the party, took a look at
their cattle, and some four years afterward, after going into Mexico and
Taos, found his way to the Wallamet as a settler, with a few head of
cattle, which he managed to get through. This man is a quiet and good
citizen, and has a respectable family of half-native children. The
accursed influence of slavery in his neighborhood has borne heavily upon
his children. Whether they will be able to rise above it and stand as
examples of good citizens remains for them to demonstrate.
No. 7. A short, thick-set man, with a Nez Percé wife; a good honest
farmer; has done credit to himself and family in giving them every
possible advantage for education and society, though the aquafortis
mixture has been strong in his neighborhood; his family are respected;
his Indian wife he considers as good as some of his neighbors', that
don't like her or her children. In this opinion all who are not
saturated with our _cultus_ mixture agree with him. His title in the
mountains was Squire, but I think it has been improved since he came to
the settlements by adding the E to it, he having been duly elected to
fill the office under the provisional, territorial, and State
government. I have learned, with much regret, that the Squire of the
Rocky Mountains, who had courage and strength to meet and overcome all
the dangers and trials of early times, has not the courage to resist the
approaches of false friends and bad whisky, which will ultimately bring
himself and his family to that certain destruction that follows the
debasing habit of using liquor in any shape.
No. 8. A fair, light-haired, light-complexioned, blue-eyed man, rather
above the medium height, with a Nez Percé wife, came about the camp, had
little or nothing to say. I am not quite certain that he had his native
wife at that time, still he had one when he came into the settlement.
He has a good farm, and if he avoids his false friends and the fatal
habits of his neighbors, he may have a good name, which will be of more
value to his children than his present social and vicious habits.
Doctor Marcus Whitman, they considered, on the whole, was a good sort of
a fellow; he was not so hide-bound but what he could talk with a common
man and get along easily if his wife did not succeed in "_stiffening_,"
starching him up; he would do first-rate, though there appeared
considerable doubt in their minds, whether, from her stern, commanding
manner, she would not eventually succeed in stiffening up the Doctor so
that he would be less agreeable. Mrs. Whitman, they thought, was a woman
of too much education and refinement to be thrown away on the Indians.
"She must have had considerable romance in her disposition to have
undertaken such an expedition with such a common, kind, good-hearted
fellow as the Doctor. As to Spalding, he is so green he will do to
spread out on a frog-pond; he may do to preach to Indians, but mountain
men would have to be fly-blown before he could come near them. Mrs.
Spalding is a first-rate woman; she has not got any starch in her; it is
strange she ever picked up such a greenhorn as she has for a husband;
she will do first-rate to teach the Indians, or anybody else; she has
got good common sense, and doesn't put on any frills. As to Gray, he is
young yet, is not quite so green as Spalding; he seems inclined to learn
a little; by the time he goes to the Columbia River and travels about
more, he will know a good deal more than he does now. He may do well in
his department if he 'keeps his eye skinned.'"
I suppose by this expression was meant a sharp look out for swindlers,
rogues, and thieves, to see that they do not lie, cheat, and steal,
every opportunity they may have, or at least that you do not allow them
to take your property under false pretenses. Be that as it may, the
general conclusion was, that, as this mission party had succeeded in
getting thus far on their journey, they might get still further, and
perhaps (most were certain) make a failure, either by being sent out of
the country by the Hudson's Bay Company, or destroyed by the Indians.
Good wishes and hopes that they might succeed were abundant from all, as
was plainly expressed, and a disposition, in case the mission succeeded
in establishing themselves, to find their way down into the Columbia
River Valley with their native families, and become settlers about the
mission stations. Lightly as these frank, open expressions of good
wishes and future ideas of the mountain hunter may appear, the
missionaries saw at once there was the germ of a future people to be
gathered in the Columbia River Valley, probably of a mixed race. These
men had all abandoned civilization and home for the wild hunter life in
the midst of the mountains. They had enjoyed its wild sports, felt its
fearful dangers and sufferings, and become, most of them, connected with
native women--a large proportion of them with the Nez Percé and Flathead
tribes. Their family, at least, could be benefited by education, and
taught the benefits of civilization and Christianity. The men had
expressed kind wishes, good feelings, and treated them kindly; why
should they not include this class of men and their families in their
efforts to benefit the Indians in the valleys of the Columbia River.
As before stated, the mission party had been introduced by Captain Wyeth
to Mr. John McLeod, a gentleman holding the rank of chief trader in the
Hudson's Bay Company. He had frequent interviews and conversations with
the mission party while at rendezvous, and as often as any of these
mountain men met him at the mission camp, he would leave without
ceremony. There appeared a mutual dislike, a sort of hatred between
them. This chief trader of the Hudson's Bay Company, in the
conversations had with him, informed the mission party that it was not
the wish of the company to encourage any of these mountain hunters and
trappers to go to the Columbia River to settle, or to have any thing to
do with them, assigning as a reason that they would cause trouble and
difficulties with the Indians. He also gave them to understand that
should they need manual labor, or men to assist them in putting up their
houses and making their improvements, the company would prefer to
furnish it, to encouraging these men in going into the country. This
intimation was distinctly conveyed to the party, with the advice and
intimations received from Captain Wyeth, who had seen and understood all
the policy of the Hudson's Bay Company, and had been compelled to sell
his improvements at Fort Hall to this same McLeod, and his goods
designed for the trade to Dr. McLaughlin, soon after their arrival in
the country. These facts and statements, with the decided manner of Mr.
McLeod, compelled the mission party to defer any effort for these
mountain men, but subsequently they advised the sending of a man to
travel with their camps.
CHAPTER XVI.
Missionaries travel in company with Hudson's Bay Company's
party.--The Lawyer's kindness.--Arrival at Fort Hall.--Description
of the country.--The Salmon Indians.--The Hudson's Bay Company's
tariff.
Letters all written to friends, and everybody supposed to have any
particular interest in the person or individual who wrote them; the
letters placed in the hands of Captain Wyeth; mission camp overhauled
and assorted; all goods supposed unnecessary, or that could be replaced,
such as irons for plows, blacksmith's tools, useless kettles, etc.,
etc., disposed of. (All articles left, the party were careful to learn,
could be had at Vancouver of the Hudson's Bay Company, or Methodist
Mission, at reasonable prices.) Tents struck; good-byes said; over the
party goes to Horse Creek, not far from the Nez Percé camp, where we
found that of McLeod and McKay. Soon after we reached camp, along comes
Dr. Whitman with his wagon, notwithstanding all parties and persons,
except the Indians, advised him to leave it. He was literally alone in
his determination to get his old wagon through on to the waters of the
Columbia, and to the mission station that might be established no one
knew where. The man that says Dr. Whitman is fickle-minded, knows
nothing of his character and less of his moral worth.
Next day, all camps, including those of the Flathead and Nez Percé
Indians, were "raised," as the expression is, and on we went; the
Hudson's Bay Company and mission camp, or caravan, together, Dr. Whitman
in charge of his wagon, with some Indians to help him. They seemed
rather to get the Doctor's ideas of this _chick-chick-shauile-kai-kash_
(iron rolling carriage), and hunted a road around the bad places, and
helped him along when he required their assistance. Our route was nearly
the same as the great overland route to Bear River and Soda Springs.
Two days before we reached Soda Springs one of the mission party became
quite unwell, and unable to sit upon his horse. He was left, at his own
request, on a little stream, while the caravan passed on some six miles
further to camp. After remaining alone and resting some two hours, The
Lawyer and an Indian companion of his came along, picked up the sick
man, put him upon a strong horse, got on behind him, and held him on
till they reached camp. Dr. Whitman gave him a prescription, which
relieved him, so that next day he was able to continue the journey with
the camp. This transaction has always been a mystery to the writer. The
place where the sick man was left was a beautiful stream, and a good
place for a camp for the whole caravan. The sick man was wholly unable
to proceed; did not ask the caravan to stop and bury him, but simply
informed them he could proceed no further; his strength was gone; they
could leave him to die alone if they chose. A word from McLeod would
have stopped the caravan. Should the mission party remain with him? He
said: "No; go on with the caravan and leave me; you will be compelled to
seek your own safety in continuing with the caravan; I am but an
individual; leave me to my fate." He requested a cup that he might get
some water from the stream, close to the side of which he wished them to
place him. Dr. Whitman remained with him as long as was deemed safe for
him, and passed on to overtake the caravan. The Lawyer and his companion
came along two or three hours afterward, picked up the dying or dead man
(for aught the caravan knew), and brought him into camp. My impression
of this transaction has always been that McLeod wished to get rid of
this young American, who was then in the service of the mission party.
"That d----d Indian, Lawyer," as the Hudson's Bay Company's men called
him, by his kindness of heart and determination not to let an American
die if he could help it, defeated the implied wish of these Hudson's Bay
Company's men in this case. The Lawyer says the sick man vomited all the
way into camp, and called for water, which his young man got for him.
From the Soda Springs the Indian camps went north into the mountains for
buffalo.
The Hudson's Bay Company and mission party continued their journey
through the spurs of the mountains over on to the waters of the Portneuf
to Fort Hall. It is due to Dr. Whitman to say that notwithstanding this
was the most difficult route we had to travel, yet he persevered with
his old wagon, without any particular assistance; from Soda Springs to
Fort Hall his labor was immense, yet he overcame every difficulty and
brought it safe through. I have thrice since traveled the same route,
and confess I can not see how he did it, notwithstanding I was with him,
and know he brought the wagon through.
Fort Hall, in 1836, was a stockade, made of cotton-wood logs, about
twelve feet long, set some two feet in the ground, with a piece of
timber pinned near the top, running entirely around the stockade, which
was about sixty feet square. The stores and quarters for the men were
built inside with poles, brush, grass, and dirt for covering, stamped
down so as to partially shed rain, and permit the guards to be upon the
tops of the quarters and see over the top of the stockade. It is
situated on an extensive level plain or flat, with spurs of the Rocky
Mountains on the east, at the distance of thirty miles, high ranges of
barren sage hills on the south, some eight miles distant. As you leave
the flat level bottom formed by the Snake and Portneuf rivers, all along
its banks it is skirted with a fine growth of cotton-wood, relieving the
landscape and forming a beautiful contrast to the high barren plains
beyond. To the west is the valley of the Snake River, from thirty to
sixty miles wide, a high, sandy, and barren sage plain. This valley is
bounded on the south by a low range of hills, running from northwest to
southeast. On the north side of Fort Hall is an extensive high plain;
this plain is, from Fort Hall, across it, full forty miles. The only
objects that meet the eye on this extensive plain are three high
basaltic buttes or mountains thrown up near its center. At the foot of
the one a little to the south and west of the two rounder and equally
prominent ones, is a fine spring of water. In 1837, the writer, in his
explorations of the country, was anxious to learn more than was then
known of the character of this great basin in the mountains, having the
year previous entered it by way of Soda Springs and Portneuf. This time
he came into it from the north by Codie's Defile, and concluded he would
take a straight course and pass between the two northeastern buttes, and
reach Snake River near Fort Hall. His Indian guide objected; still, as
we had good horses, and were traveling light, we took the precaution to
water our animals before entering this plain. We were twenty-six hours
on horseback, having stopped but six hours to rest; we tied our horses
to the sage brush, to prevent them from leaving us to hunt for water.
Not a drop did we find on our route till we reached Snake River,
thirty-two hours from the time we left running water on the north and
west sides of this plain. In our course we found nothing but barren,
basaltic rock, sand, and sage. It is possible, had we turned to the
right or left, we might have found water, but I saw nothing that gave
indications that water was near; on the contrary, I noticed that the
fine stream at which we watered our animals sank into the rocks, leaving
no marks of a channel to any great distance. In fact, my impression was,
after twelve hours' ride, that it was useless to spend our time and
strength to hunt for water, and kept our course. Jaded and fatigued as
our animals were, as we approached Snake River every nerve seemed strung
to the utmost; our animals became frantic and unmanageable; they rushed
forward at full speed and plunged into the first water they saw.
Fortunately for them and the riders, the water was only about three
feet deep; water appeared to be preferred to air; they plunged their
heads deep in and held their breaths till their thirst was relieved.
This plain is bounded on the north and east by spurs of the Rocky and
Bear River mountains; on the south and west by the high plains of
Portneuf and Snake River valleys. There is a range of mountains
commencing on the northwest of this plain, extending west and north
along Snake River, dividing the waters of the Snake and La Rivière aux
Bois (the wooded river.) This whole plain has the appearance of having
been one vast lake of lava, spread over the whole surrounding country,
appearing to have issued from the three basaltic mountains in the midst
of it. I noticed, as we passed between the two, which were probably not
more than ten miles apart, that we appeared to be on higher rock than in
any direction around us. From this fact I concluded that the three must
have been pouring out their volcanic lava at the same time and ceased
together, leaving the country comparatively level. The small amount of
soil found upon the surface, as well as the barrenness of the rock,
indicated no distant period of time when this volcanic plain had been
formed.
At Fort Hall we had another overhauling and lightening of baggage. The
Doctor was advised to take his wagon apart and pack it, if he calculated
to get it through the terrible cañons and deep, bottomless creeks we
must pass in going down Snake Plains. Miles Goodyear, the boy we picked
up two days from Fort Leavenworth, who had been assigned to assist the
Doctor, was determined, if the Doctor took his wagon any further, to
leave the company. He was the only one that could be spared to assist in
this wild, and, as all considered, crazy undertaking. Miles was
furnished a couple of horses, and the best outfit the mission party
could give him for his services, and allowed to remain or go where he
might choose. In his conclusions, he was influenced by the stories he
heard about the treatment he might expect should he reach the lower
Columbia. His idea of liberty was unlimited. Restraint and obedience to
others was what he did not like at home; he would try his fortune in the
mountains; he did not care for missionaries, Hudson's Bay men, nor
Indians; he was determined to be his own man, and was allowed to remain
at Fort Hall. This loss of manual strength to the mission party
compelled the Doctor to curtail his wagon, so he made a cart on two of
the wheels, placed the axletree and the other two wheels on his cart,
and about the 1st of August, 1836, our camp was again in motion. As we
reached camp on Portneuf the first night, in passing a bunch of willows,
Mrs. Spalding's horse, a kind and perfectly gentle animal, was stung by
a wasp, causing him to spring to one side. Mrs. S. lost her balance;
her foot hung fast in the stirrup; the horse made but a single bound
from the sting of the wasp, and stopped still till Mrs. S. was relieved
from what appeared almost instant death. Next day we continued on down
the river till we reached Salmon Falls, on Snake River.
We found a large number of the Salmon and Digger Indians at their
fishing stations. Their curiosity was excited, and overcame all the
fears that had been attributed to them by former travelers. All of them
came about the camp, and appeared quite friendly, furnishing to the
party all the fresh and dried salmon they wanted, at the most reasonable
rates, say a fine fresh salmon for two fish-hooks; four for a common
butcher-knife; ten dried ones for a shirt; in fact, receiving only such
pay or presents for their fish and roots, as the Hudson's Bay Company's
traders saw fit, or would _allow_ the missionary party to give them. It
will be remembered that, in the conversation with Captain Wyeth, the
party had been cautioned as to dealing with the Indians, or in any way
interfering with the Indian trade, or tariff, as the Hudson's Bay
Company gentlemen call the prices they were in the habit of giving to
the Indians, for any article of property they might have to dispose of,
or that the company might want. If the Indian would part with it at all,
he must receive the price or the article they chose to give him, not as
an equivalent for his article, but as a condescension on the part of the
trader, in allowing him the honor of making the exchange. The Indian's
property or article, whatever it might be, was of no consequence to the
trader, but the article he gave or furnished to him was of great value.
The Indian knew no other system of trade; it was that or nothing; hence
the wealth of this arrogant and overgrown company, claiming exclusive
trading privileges, as also the right to occupy the country in such a
manner, and for such purposes as they chose. As a matter of course, the
mission party were not in a condition to vary or change this system of
trade; neither were they allowed to encourage the Indians in the
expectation of any future change, except as to the religious
instructions they were at liberty to impart to them.
The gentlemen of the Hudson's Bay Company were frank with the mission in
giving them their tariff: For a salmon at Salmon Falls, two awls or two
small fish-hooks; one large hook for two salmon; for a knife, four
salmon; for one load of powder and a charge of shot, or a single ball,
one salmon. At Wallawalla the tariff was nearly double, say two balls
and powder for one large-sized salmon; a three-point blanket, a check
shirt, a knife, five or ten balls and powder, from half a foot to three
feet of trail-rope tobacco, the price of a good horse. In short, there
was but one single object the Indian could live for; that was to
contribute his little mite of productive labor to enrich the Honorable
Hudson's Bay Company, and to assist them, when required, to relieve the
country of intruders. That they were in a state of absolute subjection
to the control of the company no one that traveled in it at that early
day can doubt for a moment. Speak of improving the condition of the
Indians to gentlemen of the company, they would insist that it only made
them more insolent, demand higher prices for their produce, and be less
inclined to hunt for the furs necessary to supply the goods furnished
for their use. The idea of improving the condition of the Indian, and
raising him in the scale of civilization, and by that means increase his
natural wants, and encourage him with a fair compensation for his labor,
was no part of their chartered privileges. They found the Indian as he
was; they would leave him no better. The country and all in it was
theirs; they could not allow any interference with their trade. "If you
missionaries wish to teach them your religion, we have no particular
objection, so long as you confine yourselves to such religious
instruction; as to trade, gentlemen, we will not object to your
receiving from the Indians what you may require for your own personal
use and subsistence, provided you do not pay them more for the article
you buy of them than the company does. We will give you our tariff, that
you may be governed by it in your dealings with the Indians. You will
readily perceive, gentlemen, that it is necessary for us to insist on
these conditions, in order to protect our own interests, and secure our
accustomed profits."
CHAPTER XVII.
An explanation.--Instructions of company.--Their
tyranny.--Continuation of journey.--Fording rivers.--Arrival at
Boise.--Dr. Whitman compelled to leave his wagon.
It may be asked why the writer gives this explanation of trade and
intercourse with the Indians and missionaries before they have reached
the field of their future labors? For the simple reason that the party,
and the writer in particular, commenced their education in the Rocky
Mountains. They learned that in the country to which they were going
there was an overgrown, unscrupulous, and exacting monopoly that would
prevent any interference in their trade, or intercourse with the
Indians. This information was received through the American fur traders,
and from Captain Wyeth, who was leaving the country; and from Mr. John
McLeod, then in charge of our traveling caravan. It is true, we had only
reached Salmon Falls, on Snake River, and we only wished to buy of the
miserable, naked, filthy objects before us, a few fresh salmon, which
they were catching in apparent abundance; and as is the case with most
American travelers, we had many articles that would be valuable to the
Indian, and beneficial to us to get rid of. But this overgrown company's
interest comes in. "You must not be liberal, or even just, to these
miserable human or savage beings; if you are, it will spoil our trade
with them; we can not control them if they learn the value of our
goods."
This supreme selfishness, this spirit of oppression, was applied not
only to the Digger Indians on the barren Snake plains and the salmon
fisheries of the Columbia River, but to the miserable discharged, and,
in most cases, disabled, Canadian-French. This policy the Hudson's Bay
Company practiced upon their own servants, and, as far as was possible,
upon all the early settlers of the country. In proof of this, hear what
Messrs. Ewing Young and Carmichael say of them on the thirteenth day of
January, 1837, just three months after our mission party had arrived,
and had written to their friends and patrons in the United States
glowing accounts of the kind treatment they had received from this same
Hudson's Bay Company. How far the Methodist Mission joined in the
attempt to coerce Mr. Young and compel him to place himself under their
control, I am unable to say. The Hudson's Bay Company, I know, from the
statement of Dr. McLaughlin himself, had an abundance of liquors. I
also know they were in the habit of furnishing them freely to the
Indians, as they thought the interest of their trade required. Mr.
Young's letter is in answer to a request of the Methodist Mission,
signed by J. and D. Lee, C. Shepard, and P. L. Edwards, not to erect a
distillers on his land claim in Yamhill County (Nealem Valley). The
Methodist Mission was made use of on this occasion, under the threat of
the Hudson's Bay Company, that in case Mr. Young put up his distillery
the Hudson's Bay Company would freely distribute their liquors, and at
once destroy all moral restraint, and more than probable the mission
itself. Lee and party offered to indemnify Mr. Young for his loss in
stopping his distillery project. The Hudson's Bay Company held by this
means the exclusive liquor trade, while the mission were compelled to
use their influence and means to prevent and buy off any enterprise that
conflicted with their interests. Mr. Young says, in his reply:--
"Gentlemen, having taken into consideration your request to
relinquish our enterprise in manufacturing ardent spirits, we
therefore do agree to stop our proceedings for the present: but,
gentlemen, the reasons for first beginning such an enterprise were
the _innumerable difficulties_ placed in our way by, and the
_tyrannizing oppression_ of, the Hudson's Bay Company, here under
the absolute authority of Dr. McLaughlin, who has treated us with
more disdain than any American's feelings could support; but,
gentlemen, it is not consistent with our feelings to receive any
recompense whatever for our expenditures, but we are thankful to the
society for their offer."
The writer of the above short paragraph has long since closed his
labors, which, with his little property, have done more substantial
benefit to Oregon than the Hudson's Bay Company, that attempted to drive
him from the country, which I will prove to the satisfaction of any
unprejudiced mind as we proceed, I am fully aware of the great number of
pensioned satellites that have fawned for Hudson's Bay Company pap, and
would swear no injustice was ever done to a single American, giving this
hypocritical, double-dealing smooth-swindling, called honorable,
Hudson's Bay Company credit for what they never did, and really for
stealing credit for good deeds done by others. The company insisted that
the mission party should, as a condition of being permitted to remain in
the country, comply with their ideas of Indian trade and justice in
dealing with the natives. The utmost care and attention was given to
impress this all-important fact upon the minds of these first
missionaries. They were told: "Gentlemen, your own pecuniary interests
require it; the good--_yes, the good_--of the natives you came to teach,
requires that you should observe our rules in trade." And here, I have
no doubt, lies the great secret of the partial failure of all the
Protestant missions. But, thank God, the country is relieved of a curse,
like that of slavery in the Southern States. An overgrown monopoly, in
using its influence with Catholicism to destroy Protestantism in Oregon
and the American settlements, has destroyed itself. Priestcraft and
Romanism, combined with ignorance and savagism, under the direction of
the Honorable Hudson's Bay Company traders, is a kind of mixture which
Mr. Ewing Young says "is more than any American citizen's feelings could
support;" yet for six years it was submitted to, and the country
increased, not so much in wealth, but in stout-hearted men and women,
who had dared every thing, and endured many living deaths, to secure
homes, and save a vast and rich country to the American Republic. Was
the government too liberal in giving these pioneers three hundred and
twenty acres of land, when, by their toil and patient endurance they had
suffered every thing this arrogant, unscrupulous, overgrown monopoly
could inflict, by calling to its aid superstition and priestcraft, in
the worst possible form, to subdue and drive them from the country?
Is there an American on this coast who doubts the fact of the tyrannical
course of the company? Listen to what is said of them in 1857, '58, in
their absolute government of Vancouver Island and British Columbia, by a
resident. He says:--
"In my unsophisticated ignorance, I foolishly imagined I was
entering a colony governed by British institutions; but I was
quickly undeceived. It was far worse than a Venetian oligarchy; a
squawtocracy of skin traders, ruled by men whose lives have been
spent in the wilderness in social communion with Indian savages,
their present daily occupation being the sale of tea, sugar, whisky,
and the usual _et cæteras_ of a grocery, which (taking advantage of
an increased population) they sold at the small advance of five
hundred per cent.; by men, who, to keep up the _entente cordiale_
with the red-skins, scrupled not (and the iniquitous practice is
still continued) to supply them with arms and ammunition, well
knowing that the same would be used in murderous warfare. I found
these 'small fry' claiming, under some antediluvian grant, not only
Vancouver Island, but a tract of country extending from the Pacific
to the Atlantic Ocean, from British Columbia to Hudson's Bay--a
territory of larger area than all Europe. The onward march of
civilization was checked; all avenues to the mineral regions were
closed by excessive, unauthorized, and illegal taxation; and a
country abounding with a fair share of Nature's richest productions,
and which might now be teeming with a hardy and industrious
population, was crushed and blasted by a set of unprincipled
autocrats, whose selfish interests, idle caprices, and unscrupulous
conduct, sought to gratify their petty ambition by trampling on the
dearest rights of their fellow-men. In Victoria and British Columbia
the town lots, the suburban farms, and the water frontage were
theirs,--the rocks in the bay, and the rocks on the earth; the trees
in the streets, which served as ornaments to the town, were cut down
by their orders and sold for fire-wood; with equal right
(presumption or unscrupulousness is the appropriate term) they
claimed the trees and dead timber of the forests, the waters of the
bay, and the fresh water on the shores; all, all was theirs;--nay, I
have seen the water running from the mountain springs denied to
allay the parched thirst of the poor wretches whom the _auri sacra
fames_ had allured to these inhospitable shores. They viewed with a
jealous eye all intruders into their unknown kingdom, and every
impediment was thrown in the way of improving or developing the
resources of the colony. The coal mines were theirs, and this
necessary article of fuel in a northern climate was held by them at
thirty dollars per ton. The sole and exclusive right to trade was
theirs, and the claim rigidly enforced. The gold fields were theirs
likewise, and a tax of five dollars on every man, and eight dollars
on every canoe or boat, was levied and collected at the mouth of the
cañon before either were allowed to enter the sacred portals of
British Columbia. This amount had to be paid hundreds of miles from
the place where gold was said to exist, whether the party ever dug
an ounce or not. They looked upon all new arrivals with ill-subdued
jealousy and suspicion, and distrusted them as a prætorian band of
robbers coming to despoil them of their ill-gotten wealth."
Was this the case in 1858? Show me the man who denies it, and I will
show you a man devoid of moral perception, destitute of the principle of
right dealing between man and man; yet this same Hudson's Bay Company
claim credit for saving the thousands of men they had robbed of their
hard cash, in not allowing a few sacks of old flour and a quantity of
damaged bacon to be sold to exceed one hundred per cent. above prime
cost. "Their goods were very reasonable," says the apologist; "their
trade was honorable." Has any one ever before attempted to claim
honorable dealing for companies pursuing invariably the same selfish and
avaricious course? This company is not satisfied with the privilege they
have had of robbing the natives of this coast, their French and
half-native servants, the American settlers, and their own countrymen,
while dependent upon them; but now, when they can no longer rob and
steal from half a continent, they come to our government at Washington
and make a demand for five millions of dollars for giving up this
barefaced open robbery of a whole country they never had the shadow of
a right to. It is possible the honorable commissioners may admit this
arrogant and unjust claim. If they do,--one single farthing of it,--they
deserve the curses due to the company who have robbed the native
inhabitants of all their labor, their own servants they brought to it,
the country of all they could get from it that was of any value to them,
and the nation upon whom they call for any amount, be it great or small.
I have not time, and it would be out of place, to say more upon this
subject, at this rime, in the historical sketches we propose to give. Be
assured we do not write without knowing what we say, and being prepared
to prove our statements with facts that have come under our own
observation while in the country. We will leave the Hudson's Bay Company
and return to our mission party.
After getting a full supply of salmon for a tin whistle, or its
equivalent, a smell of trail-rope tobacco, we came to the ford at the
three islands in Snake River, crossed all safe, except a short swim for
Dr. Whitman and his cart on coming out on the north side or right bank
of the river. As nothing serious occurred, we passed on to camp. The
next day, in passing along the foot hills of the range of mountains
separating the waters of the Snake River and La Rivière aux Bois, we
came to the warm springs, in which we boiled a piece of salmon. Then we
struck the main Boise River, as it comes out of the mountain, not far
below the present location of Boise City; thence, about ten miles down
the river, and into the bend, where we found a miserable pen of a place,
at that time called Fort Boise. It consisted of cotton-wood poles and
crooked sticks set in a trench, and pretended to be fastened near the
top. The houses or quarters were also of poles, open; in fact, the whole
concern could hardly be called a passable corral, or pen for horses and
cattle. I think, from appearances, the fort had been used to corral or
catch horses in. We were informed that it was established in opposition
to Fort Hall, to prevent the Indians, as much as possible, from giving
their trade to Captain Wyeth, and that the company expected, if they
kept it up, to remove it near the mouth of Boise River.
At this place, McLeod and McKay, and all the Johnny Crapauds of the
company, united in the opinion that it was impossible to get the
Doctor's cart any further without taking it all apart and bending the
iron tires on the wheels, and packing it in par-fleshes (the dried hide
of the buffalo, used as an outside covering for packs), and in that way
we might get it through, if the animals we packed it upon did not fall
with it from the precipices over which we must pass. _Impossible_ to get
it through any other way. After several consultations, and some very
decided expressions against any further attempt to take the wagon
further, a compromise was made, that, after the party had reached their
permanent location, the Doctor or Mr. Gray would return with the
Hudson's Bay Company's caravan and get the wagon and bring it through.
To this proposition the Doctor consented. The wagon was left, to the
great advantage of the Hudson's Bay Company, in removing their timber
and material to build their new fort, as was contemplated, that and the
following seasons.
All our goods were placed upon the tallest horses we had, and led
across. Mrs. Spalding and Mrs. Whitman were ferried over on a bulrush
raft, made by the Indians for crossing. The tops of the rushes were tied
with grass ropes, and spread and so arranged that, by lying quite flat
upon the rushes and sticks they were conveyed over in safety. Portions
of our clothing and goods, as was expected, came in contact with the
water, and some delay caused to dry and repack. This attended to, the
party proceeded on the present wagon trail till they reached the Grand
Ronde; thence they ascended the mountain on the west side of the main
river, passed over into a deep cañon, through thick timber, ascended the
mountain, and came out on to the Umatilla, not far from the present
wagon route.
As the party began to descend from the western slope of the Blue
Mountains, the view was surpassingly grand. Before us lay the great
valley of the Columbia; on the west, and in full view, Mount Hood rose
amid the lofty range of the Cascade Mountains, ninety miles distant. To
the south of Mount Hood stood Mount Adams, and to the north, Mount
Rainier; while, with the assistance of Mr. McKay, we could trace the
course of the Columbia, and determine the location of Wallawalla. It was
quite late in the evening before we reached camp on the Umatilla, being
delayed by our cattle, their feet having become worn and tender in
passing over the sharp rocks, there being but little signs of a trail
where we passed over the Blue Mountains in 1836.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Arrival at Fort Wallawalla.--Reception.--The fort in 1836.--Voyage
down the Columbia River.--Portage at Celilo.--At Dalles.--A
storm.--The Flatheads.--Portage at the Cascades.
Next day Mr. McLeod left the train in charge of Mr. McKay, and started
for the fort, having obtained a fresh horse from the Cayuse Indians. The
party, with Hudson's Bay Company's furs and mission cattle, traveled
slowly, and in two days and a half reached old Fort Wallawalla, on the
Columbia River,--on the second day of September, 1836, a little over
four months from the time they left Missouri. Traveling by time from two
to three miles per hour, making it two thousand two hundred and fifty
miles.
Their reception must have been witnessed to be fully realized. The gates
of the fort were thrown open, the ladies assisted from their horses, and
every demonstration of joy and respect manifested. The party were soon
led into an apartment, the best the establishment had to offer. Their
horses and mules were unloaded and cared for; the cattle were not
neglected. It appeared we had arrived among the best of friends instead
of total strangers, and were being welcomed home in the most cordial
manner. We found the gentleman in charge, Mr. P. C. Pambrun, a
French-Canadian by birth, all that we could wish, and more than we
expected.
Mr. J. K. Townsend, the naturalist, we found at Wallawalla. He had been
sent across the Rocky Mountains, in company with Dr. Nutall, a
geologist, by a society in Philadelphia, in 1834, in company with
Captain Wyeth. He had remained in the country to complete his collection
of specimens of plants and birds, and was awaiting the return of the
Hudson's Bay Company's ship, to reach the Sandwich Islands, on his
homeward course, having failed to get an escort to connect with Captain
Wyeth, and return by way of the Rocky Mountains. From Mr. Townsend the
mission party received much useful information relating to the course
they should pursue in their intercourse with the Hudson's Bay Company
and the Indians. He appeared to take a deep interest in the objects of
the mission, confirming, from his own observation, the information
already received, cautioning the party not to do any thing with the
Indians that would interfere with the Hudson's Bay Company's trade.
Repeating almost _verbatim_ Captain Wyeth's words, "The company will be
glad to have you in the country, and your influence to improve their
servants, and their native wives and children. As to the Indians you
have come to teach, they do not want them to be any more enlightened.
The company now have absolute control over them, and that is all they
require. As to Mr. Pambrun, at this place, he is a kind, good-hearted
gentleman, and will do any thing he can for you. He has already received
his orders in anticipation of your arrival, and will obey them
implicitly; should the company learn from him, or any other source, that
you are here and do not comply with their regulations and treatment of
the Indians, they will cut off your supplies, and leave you to perish
among the Indians you are here to benefit. The company have made
arrangements, and expect you to visit Vancouver, their principal depot
in the country, before you select your location."
Mr. Townsend had gathered from the gentlemen of the Hudson's Bay
Company, during the year he had been in the country, a good knowledge of
their policy, and of their manner of treatment and trade with the
Indians. He had also learned from conversations with Rev. Samuel Parker
and the various members of the company, their views and feelings, not
only toward American traders, but of the missionary occupation of the
country by the Americans. The mission party of 1836 learned from Mr.
McLeod that the Hudson's Bay Company had sent for a chaplain, to be
located at Vancouver, and from Mr. Townsend that he had arrived.
It will be borne in mind that this honorable company, on the arrival of
Rev. J. Lee and party to look after the civil and religious welfare of
the Indians, examined their old charter, and found that one of its
requirements was to _Christianize_ as well as trade with the natives of
this vast country. They found that the English church service must be
read at their posts on the Sabbath. To conform to this regulation, a
chaplain was sent for. He came, with his wife; and not receiving the
submission and attention from the chivalry of the country he demanded,
became thoroughly disgusted, and returned to England (I think) on the
same ship he came in. As we proceed, we will develop whys and
wherefores.
Old Fort Wallawalla, in 1836, when the mission party arrived, was a
tolerably substantial stockade, built of drift-wood taken from the
Columbia River, of an oblong form, with two log bastions raised, one on
the southwest corner, commanding the river-front and southern space
beyond the stockade; the other bastion was on the northeast corner,
commanding the north end, and east side of the fort. In each of these
bastions were kept two small cannon, with a good supply of small-arms.
These bastions were always well guarded when any danger was suspected
from the Indians. The sage brush, willow, and grease-wood had been cut
and cleared away for a considerable distance around, to prevent any
Indians getting near the fort without being discovered. Inside the
stockade were the houses, store, and quarters for the men, with a space
sufficiently large to corral about one hundred horses. The houses and
quarters were built by laying down sills, placing posts at from eight to
twelve feet apart, with tenons on the top, and the bottom grooved in the
sides, and for corner-posts, so as to slip each piece of timber, having
also a tenon upon each end, into the grooves of the posts, forming a
solid wall of from four to six inches thick, usually about seven feet
high from floor to ceiling, or timbers overhead. The roofs were of split
cedar, flattened and placed upon the ridge pole and plate-like rafters,
close together; then grass or straw was put on the split pieces, covered
with mud and dirt, and packed to keep the straw from blowing off. The
roofs were less than one-fourth pitch, and of course subject to leakage
when it rained. For floors, split puncheons or planks were used in the
chief trader's quarters. In the corner of the room was a comfortable
fireplace, made of mud in place of brick. The room was lighted with six
panes of glass, seven inches by nine, set in strips of wood, split with
a common knife, and shaped so as to hold the glass in place of a sash.
The doors were also of split lumber, rough hewn, wrought-iron hinges,
and wooden latches; the furniture consisted of three benches, two
stools, and one chair (something like a barber's chair, without the
scrolls and cushions); a bed in one corner of the room upon some split
boards for bottom; a rough table of the same material roughly planed.
This, with a few old cutlasses, shot-pouches, and tobacco sacks (such as
were manufactured by the Indians about the post), constituted the room
and furniture occupied by P. C. Pambrun, Esq., of the Honorable Hudson's
Bay Company. Into this room the mission party were invited, and
introduced to Mrs. Pambrun and two young children-misses. The kind and
cordial reception of Mr. Pambrun was such that all felt cheerful and
relieved in this rude specimen of half-native, half-French dwelling. The
cloth was soon spread upon the table, and the cook brought in the choice
game of the prairies well cooked, with a small supply of Irish potatoes
and small Canadian yellow corn. This was a feast, as well as a great
change from dried and pounded buffalo meat "straight," as the miners
say, upon which we had subsisted since we left the rendezvous, except
the occasional fresh bits we could get along the route. Dinner being
disposed of, some fine melons were served, which Mr. Pambrun had
succeeded in raising in his little melon patch, in the bends of the
Wallawalla River, about two miles from the fort. The supply of melons
was quite limited, a single one of each kind for the party. Mr. Townsend
on this occasion yielded his share to the ladies, and insisted, as he
had been at the fort and partaken of them on previous occasions, they
should have his share. Dinner over, melons disposed of, fort, stores,
and quarters examined, arrangements were made for sleeping in the
various sheds and bastions of the fort. Most of the gentlemen preferred
the open air and tent to the accommodations of the fort. Rooms were
provided for the two ladies and their husbands, Dr. Whitman and Mr.
Spalding.
Next morning early, Messrs. McLeod and Townsend started for Vancouver in
a light boat, with the understanding that Mr. Pambrun, with the
company's furs, and the mission party, were to follow in a few days. Mr.
McKay was to remain in charge of the fort. All things were arranged to
Mr. Pambrun's satisfaction; two boats or barges were made ready, the
furs and party all aboard, with seven men to each barge, six to row and
one to steer, with a big paddle instead of a helm, or an oar; we glided
swiftly down the Columbia River, the scenery of which is not surpassed
in grandeur by any river in the world. Fire, earth, and water have
combined to make one grand display with melted lava, turning it out in
all imaginable and unimaginable shapes and forms on a most gigantic
scale. In other countries, these hills thrown up would be called
mountains, but here we call them high rolling plains, interspersed with
a few snow-capped peaks, some fifteen and some seventeen thousand feet
high. The river is running through these plains, wandering around among
the rocks with its gentle current of from four to eight knots per hour;
at the rapids increasing its velocity and gyrations around and among the
rocks in a manner interesting and exciting to the traveler, who at one
moment finds his boat head on at full speed making for a big rock; anon
he comes along, and by an extra exertion with his pole shoves off his
boat to receive a full supply of water from the rolling swell, as the
water rushes over the rock he has but just escaped being dashed to
pieces against. As to danger in such places, it is all folly to think of
any; so on we go to repeat the same performance over and over till we
reach the falls, at what is now called Celilo, where we find about
twenty-five feet perpendicular fall.
Our boats were discharged of all their contents, about one-fourth of a
mile above the main fall, on the right bank of the river. Then the cargo
was packed upon the Indians' backs to the landing below the falls, the
Indian performing this part of the labor for from two to six inches of
trail-rope tobacco. A few were paid from two to ten charges of powder
and ball, or shot, depending upon the number of trips they made and the
amount they carried. The boats were let down with lines as near the fall
as was considered safe, hauled out of the water, turned bottom up, and
as many Indians as could get under them, say some twenty-five to each
boat, lifted them upon their shoulders and carried them to the water
below. For this service they each received two dried leaves of tobacco,
which would make about six common pipefuls. The Indian, however, with
other dried leaves, would make his two leaves of tobacco last some time.
This portage over, and all on board, we again glided swiftly along, ran
through what is called the Little Dalles, and soon reached the narrowest
place in the Columbia, where the water rushes through sharp projecting
rocks, causing it to turn and whirl and rush in every conceivable shape
for about three-fourths of a mile, till it finds a large circular basin
below, into which it runs and makes one grand turn round and passes
smoothly out at right angles and down in a deep smooth current, widening
as it enters the lofty range of the Cascade Mountains. The river was
deemed a little too high, by our Iroquois pilot, to run the Big Dalles
at that time, although, in January following, the writer, in company
with another party, did run them with no more apparent danger than we
experienced on the same trip at what is called John Day's Rapids. At the
Dalles our party made another portage, paying our Indians as at Celilo
Falls.
The Indians' curiosity to look at the white women caused us a little
delay at the falls, and also at the Dalles; in fact, numbers of them
followed our boats in their canoes to the Dalles, to look at these two
strange beings who had nothing to carry but their own persons, and were
dressed so differently from the men.
We proceeded down the river for a few miles and met the Hudson's Bay
Company's express canoe, in charge of Mr. Hovey, on its way to Lachine,
going across the continent; stopped and exchanged greetings for a few
minutes and passed on to camp just above Dog River. Next morning made an
early start to reach La Cascade to make the portage there before night.
We had proceeded but about one hour, with a gentle breeze from the east,
sails all set, and in fine spirits, admiring the sublimely grand
scenery, when, looking down the river, the ladies inquired what made the
water look so white. In a moment our boatmen took in sail, and laid to
their oars with all their might to reach land and get under shelter,
which we did, but not till we had received considerable wetting, and
experienced the first shock of a severe wind-storm, such as can be
gotten up on the shortest possible notice in the midst of the Cascade
Mountains. Our camp was just below White Salmon River. The storm was so
severe that all our baggage, furs, and even boats had to be taken out of
the water to prevent them from being dashed to pieces on the shore. For
three days and nights we lay in this miserable camp watching the storm
as it howled on the waves and through this mountain range. Stormy as it
was, a few Indians found our camp and crawled over the points of rocks
to get sight of our party.
Among the Indians of the coast and lower Columbia none but such as are
of noble birth are allowed to flatten their skulls. This is accomplished
by taking an infant and placing it upon a board corresponding in length
and breadth to the size of the child, which is placed upon it and lashed
fast in a sort of a sack, to hold its limbs and body in one position.
The head is also confined with strings and lashing, allowing scarcely
any motion for the head. From the head of the board, upon which the
infant is made fast, is a small piece of board lashed to the back piece,
extending down nearly over the eyes, with strings attached so as to
prevent the forehead from extending beyond the eyes, giving the head and
face a broad and flat shape. The native infants of the blood royal were
kept in these presses from three to four months, or longer, as the
infant could bear, or as the aspirations of the parent prompted. For the
last fifteen years I have not seen a native infant promoted to these
royal honors. My impression is that the example of the white mother in
the treatment of her infant has had more influence in removing this
cruel practice than any other cause. As a general thing, the tribes that
have followed the practice of flattening the skull are inferior in
intellect, less stirring and enterprising in their habits, and far more
degraded in their morals than other tribes. To this cause probably more
than any other may be traced the effect of vice among them. The tribes
below the Cascade Mountains were the first that had any intercourse with
the whites. The diseases never feared or shunned by the abandoned and
profligate youth and sailor were introduced among them. The certain and
legitimate effect soon showed itself all along the coast. So prevalent
was vice and immorality among the natives, that not one escaped. Their
blood became tainted, their bodies loathsome and foul, their
communication corrupt continually. The flattened head of the royal
families, and the round head of the slave, was no protection from vice
and immoral intercourse among the sexes; hence, when diseases of a
different nature, and such as among the more civilized white race are
easily treated and cured, came among them, they fell like rotten sheep.
If a remnant is left, I have often felt that the reacting curse of vice
will pursue our advanced civilization for the certain destruction that
has befallen the miserable tribes that but a few years since peopled
this whole coast. It is true that the missionaries came to the country
before many white settlers came. It is also true that they soon learned
the causes that would sweep the Indians from the land, and in their
feeble efforts to check and remove the causes, they were met by the
unlimited and unbridled passions of all in the country, and all who came
to it for a number of years subsequent, with a combined influence to
destroy that of the missionaries in correcting or checking this evil.
Like alcohol and its friends, it had no virtue or conscience, hence the
little moral influence brought by the first missionaries was like
pouring water upon glass: it only washed the sediment from the surface
while the heart remained untouched. Most of the missionaries could only
be witnesses of facts that they had little or no power to correct or
prevent; many of them lacked the moral courage necessary to combat
successfully the influences with which they were surrounded, and every
action, word, or expression was canvassed and turned against them or the
cause they represented.
The reader will excuse this little digression into moral facts, as he
will bear in mind that we were in a most disagreeable camp on the
Columbia River, between the Cascades and the Dalles, and for the first
time were introduced to real live Flatheads and the process of making
them such. The men, also, or boatmen, amused themselves in getting the
members of the royal family who visited our camp drunk as Chinamen (on
opium), by filling their pipes with pure trail-rope tobacco.
On the fourth morning after the storm stopped us, we were again on our
way. Arrived at the Cascades and made a portage of the goods over,
around, and among the rocks, till we reached the basin below the main
shoot or rapids. The boats were let down by lines and hauled out to
repair leakage from bruises received on the rocks in their descent.
Damage repaired, all embarked again, and ran down to Cape Horn and
camped; next day we reached the saw-mill and camped early. All hands
must wash up and get ready to reach the fort in the morning. From the
saw-mill an Indian was sent on ahead to give notice at the fort of the
arrival of the party. Our captain, as the Americans would call Mr.
Pambrun, who had charge of the boats, was slow in getting ready to
start. Breakfast over, all dressed in their best clothes, the party
proceeded on down the river. In coming round a bend of the upper end of
the plain upon which the fort stands, we came in full view of two fine
ships dressed in complete regalia from stem to stern, with the St.
George cross waving gracefully from the staff in the fort. Our party
inquired innocently enough the cause of this display. Captain Pambrun
evaded a direct answer. In a short time, as the boats neared the shore,
two tall, well-formed, neatly-dressed gentlemen waved a welcome, and in
a moment all were on shore. Rev. Mr. Spalding and lady were introduced,
followed by Dr. Whitman and lady, to the two gentlemen. One, whose hair
was then nearly white, stepped forward and gave his arm to Mrs. Whitman.
The other, a tall, black-haired, black-eyed man, with rather slim body,
a light sallow complexion and smooth face, gave his arm to Mrs.
Spalding. By this time Mr. McLeod had made his appearance, and bade the
party a hearty welcome and accompanied them into the fort. We began to
suspect the cause of so much display. All safely arrived in the fort, we
were led up-stairs, in front of the big square hewed-timber house, and
into a room on the right of the hall, where the ladies were seated, as
also some six gentlemen, besides the tall white-headed one. The writer,
standing in the hall, was noticed by Mr. McLeod, who came out and
invited him into the quarters of the clerks. We will leave our ladies in
conversation with the two fine-looking gentlemen that received them on
arriving at the water's edge, while we take a look at the fort, as it
appeared on September 12, 1836.
CHAPTER XIX.
Fort Vancouver in 1836.--An extra table.--Conditions on which
cattle were supplied to settlers.--Official papers.--Three
organizations.
Fort Vancouver was a stockade, built with fir-logs about ten inches in
diameter, set some four feet in the ground, and about twenty feet above,
secured by pieces of timber pinned on the inside, running diagonally
around the entire stockade, which at that time covered or inclosed about
two acres of ground. The old fort, as it was called, was so much decayed
that the new one was then being built, and portions of the old one
replaced. The storehouses were all built of hewn timber, about six
inches thick, and covered with sawed boards one foot wide and one inch
thick, with grooves in the edges of the boards, placed up and down upon
the roof, in place of shingles; of course, in case of a knot-hole or a
crack, it was a leaky concern. All the houses were covered with boards
in a similar manner in the new quarters. The partitions were all upright
boards planed, and the cracks battened; floors were mostly rough boards,
except the office and the governor's house, which were planed. The
parsonage was what might be called of the balloon order, covered like
the rest, with a big mud and stone chimney in the center. The partitions
and floors were rough boards. There were but two rooms, the one used for
dining-room and kitchen, the other for bedroom and parlor. The doors and
gates of the fort, or stockade, were all locked from the inside, and a
guard stationed over the gate. In front of the governor's house was a
half semicircle double stairway, leading to the main hall up a flight of
some ten steps. In the center of the semicircle was one large 24-pound
cannon, mounted on a ship's carriage, and on either side was a small
cannon, or mortar gun, with balls piled in order about them, all
pointing to the main gate entrance; latterly, to protect the fort from
the savages that had commenced coming over the Rocky Mountains, a
bastion was built, said to be for saluting her Majesty's ships when they
might arrive, or depart from the country.
At 12 M. the fort bell rang; clerks and gentlemen all met at the common
dinner-table, which was well supplied with potatoes, salmon, wild fowl,
and usually with venison and bread. Dinner over, most of the gentlemen
passed a compliment in a glass of wine, or brandy, if preferred; all
then retired to the social hall, a room in the clerks' quarters, where
they indulged in a stiff pipe of tobacco, sometimes filling the room as
full as it could hold with smoke. At 1 P.M. the bell rang again, when
all went to business.
The party had no sooner arrived than the carpenter was ordered to make
an extra table, which was located in the governor's office, in the room
where we left them on first bringing them into the house. This extra
table was presided over by the governor, or the next highest officers of
the fort; usually one or two of the head clerks or gentlemen traders
were, by special invitation, invited to dine with the ladies, or,
rather, at the ladies' table. The governor's wife was not sufficiently
accomplished, at first, to take a seat at the ladies' table. I never saw
her in the common dining-hall; neither was the mother of the chief
clerk's children permitted this honor at first. However, as Mrs. Whitman
and Mrs. Spalding soon learned the fort regulations, as also the family
connection there was in the establishment, they very soon introduced
themselves to the two principal mothers they found in the governor's
house, one belonging to the governor, and the other to the chief clerk,
and made themselves acquainted with the young misses; and, in a short
time, in opposition to the wish of the governor and his chief clerk,
brought them both to the ladies' table. They also brought the youngest
daughter of the governor to the table, and took considerable pains to
teach the young misses, and make themselves generally useful; so that,
at the end of two weeks, when arrangements had been made for the party
to return to Wallawalla to commence their missionary labors, the
governor and chief clerk would not allow the ladies to depart, till the
gentlemen had gone up and selected their stations and built their
houses, so that they could be comfortable for winter. Captain Wyeth and
Mr. Townsend were correct in their ideas of the reception of this party.
The utmost cordiality was manifested, the kindest attention paid, and
such articles as could be made about the establishment, that the party
wanted, were supplied. The goods were all to be furnished at _one
hundred per cent. on London prices_, drafts to be drawn on the American
Board, payable in London at sight. They were cashed by the Board at
thirty-seven cents premium on London drafts, costing the mission two
dollars and seventy-four cents for every dollar's worth of goods they
received; freight and charges from Fort Vancouver to Wallawalla were
added. These goods were received and paid for, not as a business
transaction with the Hudson's Bay Company, by any means, but as a
_gracious gift_; or, to quote the governor and chief clerk, "You
gentlemen _must_ consider yourselves under great obligation to the
Hudson's Bay Company, as we are only here to trade with the natives. In
your future transactions you will make out your orders, and we will
forward them to London to be filled at their rates, and with this
understanding."
While at Vancouver, Dr. Whitman concluded that some more cattle than the
mission had were necessary to facilitate the labor in breaking up the
prairie for a spring crop; and a few cows might be useful to assist in
getting a start in cattle. The proposition was made to the Hudson's Bay
Company, to know upon what terms they could get them. "Certainly," said
Dr. McLaughlin, "you can have what cattle you want on the conditions we
furnish them to the company's servants and the settlers in the
Wallamet." "What are those conditions?" said Dr. Whitman. "Why, in case
of work cattle, you can take them from our band; we can not, of course,
spare you those we are working, but the cattle you take, you break in,
and when the company requires them you return them to the company." "And
what are your terms in letting your cows?" said Dr. Whitman. "Why, we
let them have the cows for the use of the milk; they return the cow and
its increase to the company." "And how is it in case the animal is lost
or gets killed?" "You gentlemen will have no difficulty on that account;
you have some cattle; you can replace them from your own band."
Dr. Whitman seemed a little incredulous as to the conditions upon which
cattle could be had of the company, and inquired if such were the
conditions they furnished them to their servants and the settlers. Dr.
McLaughlin replied emphatically, it was. We learned in this connection
that there was not a cow in the country, except those of the American
Board, that was not owned by the Hudson's Bay Company. The same was the
case with all the beeves and work cattle. The mission party concluded
they would not mortgage their own cattle for the use of the Hudson's Bay
Company's; hence dropped the cattle question for the time being.
While at Vancouver, it was deemed necessary for a copy of the official
papers of the mission party to be made out, and forwarded to the
Sandwich Islands, to the American and British consuls, and one to the
commercial agent of the Hudson's Bay Company, with an order from Dr.
McLaughlin, to the agent of the Hudson's Bay Company, to forward any
supplies or goods designed for the mission of the American Board. These
documents were made out, and duly signed, by Rev. Mr. Spalding and Dr.
Whitman. The question arose whether the name of the secular agent of the
mission ought not also to be attached to the documents, and was decided
in the affirmative. Gray was sent for; he entered the office with his
hat under his arm, as per custom in entering the audience chamber where
official business was transacted, examined hastily the documents,
attached his name, and retired. The incident was noticed by Dr.
McLaughlin, and while the mission party were absent, locating and
building their stations, Dr. McLaughlin inquired of Mrs. Whitman who the
young man was that Mr. Spalding and her husband had to sign a copy of
the public documents sent to the Sandwich Islands. Mrs. Whitman replied,
"Why, that is Mr. Gray, our associate, and secular agent of the
mission." The inquiries about Mr. Gray were dropped till the ladies
reached their stations, and Mr. Gray was advised, when he visited
Vancouver again, to present his credentials, and show the Hudson's Bay
Company his connection with the mission. Accordingly, when Mr. Gray
visited Vancouver, in January, 1837, he presented his credentials, and
was received in a manner contrasting very strongly with that of his
former reception; still, the lesson he had learned was not a useless
one. He saw plainly the condition of all the settlers, or any one in the
country that had no official position or title; he was looked upon as a
vagabond, and entitled to no place or encouragement, only as he
submitted to the absolute control of the Hudson's Bay Company, or one of
the missions. There was nothing but master and servant in the country,
and this honorable company were determined that no other class should be
permitted to be in it. To the disgrace of most of the missionaries, this
state of absolute dependence and submission to the Hudson's Bay Company,
or themselves, was submitted to, and encouraged. At least, no one but
Rev. Jason Lee, of the Methodist Mission, fully comprehended the precise
condition of an outsider. This will be shown as we proceed. We were made
a party to a special contract, in 1837, touching this question.
Then we had three distinct organizations in the country: The first, and
the most important in wealth and influence, was the Hudson's Bay
Company's traders; the second, the Methodist Mission, with their ideas
and efforts to Christianize the savages, and to do what they could to
convert the gentlemen of the Hudson's Bay Company from the error of
their ways; third, the mission of the American Board, to accomplish the
same object. The fact of these two missions being in the country, both
having the same object to accomplish, elicited a discussion as to the
proper location for both to operate in. It was not deemed advisable to
locate in the same tribe, as the field was large enough for both. The
Cowlitz and Puget Sound district was proposed, but not favored by the
Hudson's Bay Company; Mr. Pambrun kept the claims of the Nez Percés and
Cayuses before the party. His interests and arguments prevailed.
CHAPTER XX.
Settlers in 1836.--Wallamet Cattle Company.--What good have the
missionaries done?--Rev. J. Lee and party.--The Hudson's Bay
Company recommend the Wallamet.--Missionaries not dependent on the
company.--Rev. S. Parker arrives at Vancouver.
There were in the country, in the winter of 1836, besides those
connected with the Hudson's Bay Company and the missions, about fifteen
men, all told. The two missions numbered seven men and two women, making
the American population about twenty-five persons. To bring the
outsiders from the Hudson's Bay Company and the two missions into
subjection, and to keep them under proper control, it was necessary to
use all the influence the Methodist Mission had. They, as a matter of
interest and policy, furnished to such as showed a meek and humble
disposition, labor, and such means as they could spare from their
stores, and encouraged them to marry the native women they might have,
or be disposed to take, and become settlers about the mission. Such as
were not disposed to submit to the government of the mission, or the
Hudson's Bay Company, like Mr. E. Young, Carmichael, and Killmer, were
"_left out in the cold_." They could get no supplies, and no employment.
They were literally outcasts from society, and considered as outlaws and
intruders in the country. All seemed anxious to get rid of them.
McCarty, the companion of Mr. Young from California to Oregon, had
fallen out with him on the way, as Young was bringing to the country a
band of California horses (brood mares). McCarty, it seems, to be
avenged on Young, reported to Dr. McLaughlin and the mission that Young
had stolen his band of horses (though it has since been stated upon good
authority that such was not the case); still McCarty was (I understand)
a member of the class-meeting, on probation. His statements were
received as truth, and Young suffered. Young was a stirring, ambitious
man; he had spent some time in the Rocky Mountains, and in Santa Fé and
California, and the little property he could get he had invested in
horses, and brought them to Oregon. This fact, with the malicious
reports circulated about him, made him an object of suspicion and
contempt on the part of the Hudson's Bay Company and the mission. We
find that Mr. Lee treated Mr. Young as an honest man, and,
consequently, fell under the displeasure of Dr. McLaughlin and the
Hudson's Bay Company. _With Mr. Young, Mr. Lee succeeded_ in getting up
the first cattle company, and gave the first blow toward breaking up the
despotism and power of the company. Mr. Young, as Mr. Lee informed us,
was the only man in the country he could rely upon, in carrying out his
plan to supply the settlement with cattle. He was aware of the stories
in circulation about him, and of the want of confidence in him in the
mission and among the French-Canadians and Hudson's Bay Company. To
obviate this difficulty, he suggested that Mr. P. L. Edwards, a member
of the mission, should go as treasurer of the company, and Mr. Young as
captain. This brought harmony into the arrangement, and a ready
subscription to the stock of the Wallamet Cattle Company, all being
anxious to obtain cattle. But few of the settlers had any means at
command. Many of the discharged servants of the Hudson's Bay Company had
credit on their books. There were outside men enough in the country
willing to volunteer to go for the cattle, and receive their pay in
cattle when they arrived with the band in Oregon. This brought the
matter directly to the Hudson's Bay Company, and to Dr. McLaughlin. Rev.
Jason Lee received the orders of the company's servants, went to
Vancouver, and learned from the clerks in the office the amounts due the
drawers, then went to the Doctor, and insisted that certain amounts
should be paid on those orders.
The Doctor very reluctantly consented to allow the money or drafts to be
paid. This amount, with all the mission and settlers could raise, would
still have been too small to justify the party in starting, but W. A.
Slacum, Esq., of the United States navy, being on a visit to the
country, Mr. Lee stated the condition of matters to him. Mr. Slacum at
once subscribed the requisite stock, and advanced all the money the
mission wished on their stock, taking mission drafts on their Board, and
gave a free passage to California for the whole party. (As the
missionaries would say, "Bless God for brother Slacum's providential
arrival among us.") Uncle Sam had the right man in the right place that
time. It was but a little that he did; yet that little, what mighty
results have grown out of it!
On the 19th of January, 1837, six days after Mr. Young had given up his
projected distillery, he is on board Mr. Slacum's brig _Lariat_, lying
off the mouth of the Wallamet River, and on his way to California with a
company of stout-hearted men, eight (I think) in all, not to steal
horses or cheat the miserable savages, and equally miserable settlers,
out of their little productive labor, but to bring a band of cattle to
benefit the whole country. In this connection, I could not do justice
to all without quoting a paragraph which I find in Rev. G. Hines'
history of the Oregon missions. He says:--
"Mr. Slacum's vessel left the Columbia River about the first of
February, and arrived safely in the bay of San Francisco, on the
coast of California. The cattle company proceeded immediately to
purchase a large band of cattle and a number of horses, with which
they started for Oregon. In crossing a range of mountains (Rogue
River Mountains), they were attacked by the rascally Indians, and a
number of their cattle were killed, but they at length succeeded in
driving back their foe and saving the remainder. _Contrary to the
predictions and wishes of the members of the Hudson's Bay Company_,
who INDIRECTLY OPPOSED them at the outset, they arrived in safety in
the Wallamet Valley with six hundred head of cattle, and distributed
them among the settlers, according to the provisions of the compact.
This successful enterprise, which laid the foundation for a rapid
accumulation of wealth by the settlers, was mainly accomplished
through the energy and perseverance of Rev. Jason Lee."
WHAT GOOD HAVE THE MISSIONARIES DONE IN THE COUNTRY? I do not know how
Mr. Hines arrived at the conclusion that the Hudson's Bay Company
"_indirectly opposed_" this cattle expedition. I know they did it
_directly_, and it was only through the influence of Rev. J. Lee, and
Mr. Slacum, of the United States navy, that they could have succeeded at
all. Mr. Lee, in his conversation with Dr. McLaughlin, told that
gentleman directly that it was of no use for the company to _oppose_ the
_expedition_ any more; the party was made up, and the men were on the
way, and the cattle would come as per engagement, unless the men were
lost at sea. The Hudson's Bay Company yielded the point only on the
failure of the Rogue River Indians to destroy the expedition. Mr. Slacum
placed it beyond their control to stop it. The courage of the men was
superior to the company's Indian allies. The cattle came, and no thanks
to any of the Hudson's Bay Company's generosity, patronage, or power.
They did all they dared to do, openly and secretly, to prevent the
bringing of that band of cattle into the country; and, determining to
monopolize the country as far as possible, they at once entered upon the
PUGET SOUND AGRICULTURAL COMPANY, under the auspices of the Hudson's Bay
Company and the English government.
Do you ask me how I know these things? Simply by being at Vancouver the
day the brig dropped down the Columbia River, and listening to the
discussion excited on the subject, and to the proposition and plan of
the Puget Sound Company among the gentlemen concerned in getting it up.
The mission of the American Board had no stock in the cattle company of
the Wallamet, not venturing to incur the displeasure of the Hudson's Bay
Company by expressing an opinion any way upon it. The writer was picking
up items and preparing for a trip to New York overland, with one of the
Hudson's Bay Company's traders, Mr. Francis (or Frank) Ermatinger. While
in New York, Cincinnati, and other places, he stated the fact that the
Methodist missionaries had fallen under the displeasure of the Hudson's
Bay Company in entering too freely into trade and speculation in cattle
in the country. Truth and justice to them require that I enter fully
into their transactions as men and missionaries.
Rev. J. Lee, it will be remembered, was the first man to answer the call
of the Indian to come to his country. The Methodist Board had been
formed, and J. Lee accepted their invitation and patronage. In this
expedition he gathered his associates, and at the same time made
arrangements for future supplies to arrive by sea, coming around Cape
Horn. Captain Wyeth was in Boston, getting up a trading expedition, and
chartering a vessel for the mouth of the Columbia River, the _May
Dacre_. On board Captain Lambert's brig Captain Wyeth and the Methodist
Board shipped their goods for the two expeditions. The goods on the way,
it became necessary for the future objects of the mission to have a few
horses to carry on the improvements necessary to a civilized life. Lee
and associates start across the continent. Missouri is the most western
limit of civilization. They reach it, purchase their outfit, and, in
company with Captain Wyeth, reach Fort Hall; here they fall in with
Thomas McKay and our English nobleman, Captain Stewart. Captain Wyeth
stopped to build his fort, while McKay, Stewart, Lee, Dr. Nutall,
Townsend, and parties all made their way to Wallawalla, on the Columbia
River. The supreme selfishness of the Hudson's Bay Company seems here to
begin to develop itself. Lee and party were made to believe that the
Flathead tribe, who had sent their messengers for teachers, were not
only a small, but a very distant tribe, and very disadvantageously
situated for the establishment and support of a missionary among them.
These statements determined them to proceed to the lower Columbia, to
find a better location to commence operations. Leaving their horses at
Wallawalla, in charge of one of their party, they proceeded down the
Columbia in one of the Hudson's Bay Company's boats, being eleven days
in reaching the fort, and one hundred and fifty-two days on the way from
Missouri. They were kindly received by the gentlemen of the fort, and in
two days were on the hunt for a location.
The party that arrived just two years later, with two ladies, were not
allowed to leave the fort to look for locations till they had remained
twelve days, and been invited to ride all over the farm, and visit the
ships, and eat melons and apples (being always cautioned to save all the
seeds for planting).
Lee and party were frank to make known to the company their object, and
plans of future operations. Questions of trade and morality were
comparatively new with the company. As religious teachers and Christian
men they had no suspicions of any interference in trade. Mr. Lee hailed
from Canada, and so did Dr. McLaughlin and a large number of the
servants of the company.
"Mr. Lee is the man we want to instruct our retired servants in
religious matters. Mr. Shepard will be an excellent man to take
charge of our little private school; we have commenced with a Mr. S.
H. Smith, who has found his way into this country, in company with
Captain Wyeth, an opposition fur trader and salmon catcher. We do
not know much about him, but if you will allow Mr. Shepard to take
charge of our school till you can make other arrangements, and you
require his services, we will make it all right."
This arrangement placed the labor of selecting locations and the
necessary explorations upon our friend Jason Lee. All being smooth and
cordial with the company, Lee proceeds to French Prairie and up the
river till he reaches a point ten miles below Salem, about two miles
above Jarvie's old place, and makes his first location. From all the
information he could gather, this was the most central point to reach
the greatest number of Indians and allow the largest number of French
and half-native population to collect around the station. In this
expedition he occupied about ten days. The whole country was before
them--a wilderness two thousand six hundred miles broad, extending from
the gulf of California on the south, to the Russian settlements on the
north, with a few scattering stations among the border Indians along the
western territories of Missouri, and the great unknown, unexplored west,
which the American Board, in a book published in 1862, page 380, says,
"brought to light no field for a great and successful mission," showing
that, for twenty-five years, they have neglected to give this country
the attention its present position and importance demanded, and also a
total neglect on their part to select and sustain proper men in this
vast missionary field. They are willing now to plead ignorance, by
saying, "Rev. Samuel Parker's exploring tour beyond the Rocky Mountains
in 1836 and 1837 (but two years after the Rev. J. Lee came to it)
brought to light _no field for a great and successful mission_," and
console themselves by asserting a popular idea as having originated from
Mr. Parker's exploration, "a practicable route for a _railroad_ from
the Mississippi to the Pacific." Mr. Parker never originated or thought
of the practicability of the route till after Dr. Whitman had left his
wagon at Fort Boise, and demonstrated the fact of a practicable wagon
route. Then Mr. Parker, to give his work or journal a wider circulation,
talked about a railroad. The American Board, I am sorry to feel and
think, are good at attempting to catch at straws when important
missionary objects have been faithfully placed before them.
Let us return to Mr. Lee. On Saturday, September 27, 1834, he was in
council with Dr. McLaughlin, at Vancouver. The result of his
observations were fully canvassed; the condition and prospects of the
Indians and half-natives, Canadian-French, straggling sailors and
hunters that might find their way into the country, were all called
before this council. The call from the Flathead Indians and the Nez
Percés was not forgotten. The Wallamet Valley had the best advocate in
Dr. John McLaughlin. He "strongly recommended it, as did the other
gentlemen of Vancouver, as the most eligible place for the establishment
of the center of their operations." This located that mission under the
direct supervision and inspection of the Hudson's Bay Company, and, at
the same time, placed the American settlement south of the Columbia
River.
Mr. Lee, the next day, was invited to preach in the fort. All shades of
colors and sects attended this first preaching in the wilderness of
Oregon. The effect in three months was the baptizing of four adults and
seventeen children.
The Protestant missions were not dependent on the Hudson's Bay Company
for supplies any more than the Sandwich Islands were, or the American
Fur Company. If such were the fact, that they were dependent upon the
Hudson's Bay Company, the missionaries themselves and the Boards that
sent them to Oregon must have been a set of foolish men, not competent
to conduct the commonest affairs of life. The idea that seven men and
two women should be sent to a distant wilderness and savage country, and
no provisions made for their subsistence and future supplies, is one
originated without a soul, a lie to produce effect, a slander upon
common honesty and common-sense Christianity. Whitman's party left in
the Rocky Mountains a better set of tools than could be found in
Vancouver. They brought seeds of all kinds. They had no occasion to ask
of the Hudson's Bay Company a single seed for farming purposes, a single
thing in establishing their mission,--only as they had disposed of
things at the suggestion of McLeod and McKay as unnecessary to pack them
further. Arrangements were made to forward around Cape Horn, as soon as
was deemed necessary, such articles and supplies as might be required.
Rev. Jason Lee and party did not arrive in the country (as those who
have all along attempted to insinuate and make a stranger to the facts
believe, and in 1865 claim the sum of $3,822,036.67 for stealing credit
due to others, and preventing the good others might have done to the
natives in advancing them in the scale of civilization) destitute and
dependent upon the Hudson's Bay Company for supplies. On the contrary,
by the time they had selected their station, the goods on the brig _May
Dacre_ had arrived, and were ready to be landed at the lower mouth of
the Wallamet River. These goods, whether suitable or not, were all
received and conveyed to the station selected by Mr. Lee by the 6th of
October. The rainy season soon commenced; they had no shelter for
themselves or their goods. All old Oregonians who have not been seduced
and brought up by the Hudson's Bay Company can comprehend the condition
they were in. Rev. Jason Lee, like Dr. Whitman with his old wagon, had
undertaken a work he meant to accomplish. His religion was practical.
Work, labor, preach, and practice his own precepts, and demonstrate the
truth of his own doctrines. Religion and labor were synonymous with him,
and well did the noble Shepard, though but a lay member of the mission
and the church, labor and sustain him. These two men were really the
soul and life of the mission, as Dr. Whitman and Mrs. Spalding were of
the American Board. During the first winter, 1834-5, they were wholly
occupied in building their houses and preparing for the cultivation of
the land for their own subsistence. There was no alternative; it was
work or starve. Rev. Jason Lee set the example. He held the plow, with
an Indian boy to drive, in commencing his farming operations. The first
year they produced enough for home consumption in wheat, peas, oats, and
barley, and abundance of potatoes, with a few barrels of salt salmon.
The superintendent of the mission put up at the Wallamet Falls late in
the season of 1834. They had a supply of their own for the first year.
It is true they did not have superfine flour to eat, but they had plenty
of pounded and boiled wheat, and a change to pea and barley soup, with
oats for the chickens they had received from the vessel.
Daniel Lee soon falls sick, and Edwards becomes dissatisfied. They both
arrange to leave the country on the _May Dacre_. Rev. D. Lee is advised
to go to the Sandwich Islands, and Edwards is induced to undertake an
independent school at Champoeg.
Shepard toils on with his Indian and half-native school. Mr. Lee
preaches and labors at the mission among the French, and at Vancouver.
In October, 1835, Rev. S. Parker arrived at Vancouver. In November he
made a flying visit to Mr. Lee's mission. His Presbyterian spectacles
were not adapted to correct observations on Methodist Episcopal
missions. He was inclined to pronounce their efforts a failure. This
impression of Mr. Parker's arose from the fact, that no female
influence, except that of the natives of the country, was seen or felt
about the mission. His impressions were also quite unfavorable to the
Hudson's Bay Company from the same cause. These impressions were, at the
suggestion of the writer, omitted in his first published journal. Four
months after Mr. Parker's visit to Mr. Lee's mission, we find the
gentlemen of the Hudson's Bay Company making a handsome donation to Mr.
Lee's mission of $130, including a handsome prayer for a blessing upon
their labors, in the following words: "And they pray our heavenly
Father, without whose assistance we can do nothing, that of his infinite
mercy he may vouchsafe to bless and prosper your pious endeavors." This
is signed in behalf of the donors by John McLaughlin.
CHAPTER XXI.
Arrival of Rev. Mr. Beaver and wife.--His opinion of the
company.--A double-wedding.--Mrs. Spalding and Mrs. Whitman at
Vancouver.--Men explore the country and locate stations.--Their
opinion of the country.--Indian labor.--A winter trip down Snake
River.
Nothing of note occurred till about the middle of August, 1836. The bark
_Nereus_ arrived from England, bringing back Rev. Daniel Lee, recovered
from his sickness while in the Sandwich Islands, and Rev. Mr. Beaver and
lady, an English Episcopal clergyman, as chaplain to the Hudson's Bay
Company at Fort Vancouver. Mr. Beaver was a man below the medium height,
light brown hair, gray eyes, light complexion, a feminine voice, with
large pretensions to oratory, a poor delivery, and no energy. His ideas
of clerical dignity were such, that he felt himself defiled and polluted
in descending to the "common herd of savages" he found on arriving at
Vancouver. "The governor was uncivil, the clerks were boors, the women
were savages. There was not an individual about the establishment he
felt he could associate with." This feeling was shared largely by Mrs.
Beaver, who, from the little I saw of her at a double-wedding party at
her own house, I concluded, felt she was condescending greatly in
permitting her husband to perform the services.
She appeared totally indifferent to the whole performance, so far as
giving it an approving smile, look, or word. The occasion was the
marriage of the youngest daughter of Dr. McLaughlin to Mr. Ray; and of
Miss Nelia Comilly to Mr. James Douglas, since governor of Vancouver
Island and British Columbia.
While at Vancouver, I met Mr. Beaver once outside the fort, with his dog
and gun. From what I could learn of him, he was fond of hunting and
fishing;--much more so than of preaching to the "ignorant savages in the
fort," as he called the gentlemen and servants of the company. "They
were not sufficiently enlightened to appreciate good sermons, and to
conform to the English church service. However, as he was the chaplain
in charge, by virtue of his appointment received from the executive
committee and governor in London, he had rights superior to any
half-savage, pretended gentlemen at this establishment, and he would let
them know what they were, before they were done with him; he did not
come to this wilderness to be ordered and dictated to by a set of
half-savages, who did not know the difference between a prayer-book and
an otter skin, and yet they presumed to teach him morals and religion."
This tirade, as near as I could learn, was elicited from his reverence
soon after he arrived, on account of some supposed neglect or slight
offered by Dr. McLaughlin, in not furnishing his quarters in the style
he had expected. On reaching the post, in place of a splendid parsonage,
well fitted up, and servants to do his bidding, he found what in early
California times would be called an ordinary balloon house, made of
rough boards, the floors (I think) not planed, and no carpets upon them,
and none in the country to put upon them, except the common flag mats
the Indians manufacture; and these the Rev. Mrs. Beaver considered "too
filthy to step upon, or be about the house." In addition to these very
important matters (judging from the fuss they made about them), "the
doctor and all the pretended gentlemen of the company were living in
_adultery_. This was a horrible crime he could not, and would not, put
up with; he could scarcely bring himself to perform the church service
in so polluted an audience." We had never been confirmed in the English
church, and, consequently, did not feel at liberty to offer any advice
after listening to this long tirade of abuse of the members of the
Hudson's Bay Company by his reverence. A short time after, Mr. Beaver
met Dr. McLaughlin in front of the house, and commenced urging him to
comply with the regulations of the English church. The doctor had been
educated in the Roman Catholic faith; he did not acknowledge Mr.
Beaver's right to dictate a religious creed to him, hence he was not
prepared to conform wholly to the English church service. Among other
subjects, that of marriage was mentioned, Rev. Mr. Beaver insisting that
the doctor should be married in accordance with the church service. The
doctor claimed the right to be married by whom he pleased, and that Mr.
Beaver was interfering and meddling with other than his parochial
duties. This led his reverence to boil over and spill out a portion of
the contemptuous feelings he had cherished from the moment he landed at
the place. The doctor, not being in the habit from his youth of calmly
listening to vulgar and abusive language, especially when addressed to
his face, laid aside his reverence for the cloth, as also the respect
due to his position and age, and gave Rev. Mr. Beaver a caning, some say
kicking, causing his reverence to retreat, and abruptly suspend
enforcing moral lessons in conformity to church usage. Rev. Mrs. Beaver
very naturally sympathized with her husband, and they soon made
arrangements and left the country, to report their case at head-quarters
in London. Dr. McLaughlin chose to comply with civil usage, and as James
Douglas had received a commission from her Majesty as civil magistrate
under the English law, acting as justice of the peace, he united Dr.
John McLaughlin in marriage to Mrs. Margaret McKay, whose first husband
had been lost in the destruction of the bark _Tonquin_ some years
previous. This wedding occurred at Vancouver, about the end of January,
1837. The doctor was married privately, by Esquire Douglas, either a
short time before, or a few days after, I have not yet learned which.
Rev. Mr. Beaver and lady arrived at Vancouver about four weeks before
Mrs. Spalding and Mrs. Whitman. The gentlemen of the company, like the
rough mountaineers who paid their respect to Mrs. Whitman and Mrs.
Spalding at the American rendezvous, attempted to be polite and kind to
Mr. and Mrs. Beaver. They most emphatically failed. The parsonage was a
terror to them. They had become objects of _contempt_, _scorn_, and
_derision_ in the estimation of their religious guide and moral patron.
Their wives and children were looked upon as filthy savages, not fit to
associate with decent people. This feeling was so strong in the chaplain
and his wife that it leaked out in very injudicious and indiscreet
expressions of disapproval of actions and conduct, that, in a refined
and polished society, would be considered offensive; yet these traders
and Indian merchants, not having been in refined society for many years,
did not understand or comprehend their own awkwardness and want of more
refinement. They had forgotten that, in the progress of society, six
hundred years had passed since their great great grandmothers were like
the women they saw about them every day. They forgot that Mrs. Beaver
was an English clergyman's wife, and claimed to belong to the best
English society. They thought there was but little difference in
womankind; in short, they were much better qualified to deal with
Indians than with civilians. Under such circumstances, and with such
feelings existing in Fort Vancouver, the reader will not be astonished
at the reception of two ladies who could interest and command the esteem
and respect of the savage, the mountain hunter, and the Hudson's Bay
Company fur trader. They came among them expecting nothing but rough
treatment; any little mistakes were overlooked or treated as a jest.
They know no distinction in classes; they were polite to the servant and
the master; their society was agreeable and refining; not the least
insult in word, or look, or act, was ever given them by any white man;
their courage had been tested in the trip they had performed; their
conversation and accomplishments surprised and delighted those permitted
to enjoy their acquaintance, and, as Mr. Hines, in his history of the
Oregon mission, says, "these were the first American women that ever
crossed the Rocky Mountains, and _their arrival formed an epoch in the
history of Oregon_."
Our mission party, with Captain Pambrun, his two boats loaded,
two-thirds of the goods for the mission, on their way up the Columbia
River, arrived all safe at the Dalles. Gray took a decided stand in
favor of the first location at that point, on account of its
accessibility, and the general inclination of all the Indians in the
country to gather at those salmon fisheries; Spalding and Pambrun
opposed; Whitman was undecided; Pambrun would not wait to give time to
explore, nor assist in getting horses for the Doctor and Gray to look at
the country in view of a location. On we go; make the portages at La
Chute; reach John Day's River; Pambrun leaves boats in charge of Whitman
and Gray, and goes to Wallawalla on horseback. In four days' hard
pulling, towing, and sailing, we reach Wallawalla all safe; find cattle
and horses all improving, and every thing in order, that is, as good
order as could be expected; boats discharged, goods all carefully
stored. Next morning, early, a fine band of Cayuse horses came into the
fort; four fine ones were selected and saddled, an extra pack animal
with traveling case and kitchen furniture, tent for camping, and
provisions all ready, a servant with two Indians, all mounted, off we go
up the Wallawalla River about twenty-five miles. Most of the land we
passed over we pronounced barren, and good for nothing except grazing
cattle, sheep, and horses. In the bends of the river, saw a few acres of
land that might be cultivated if arrangements could be made to irrigate.
Passed the Tuchet, but did not consider its appearance justified much
delay to examine it closely, though the whole bottom was covered with a
heavy coat of tall rye grass; went on into the forks of the Wallawalla
and Mill Creek (as it is now called), pitched our tent at the place
where Whitman's station was afterward built, got our suppers. Whitman
and Gray took a look around the place, went into the bends in the river,
looked at the cotton-wood trees, the little streams of water, and all
about till dark; came back to camp; not much said. Mr. Pambrun explained
the quality of the soil, and what would produce corn, what potatoes, and
what would produce (as he thought) wheat, though he had not tried it
thoroughly; or, rather, he had tried it on a small scale and failed. A
few Cayuses came about camp at night. Next morning up early; breakfast
over, some fine fresh Cayuse horses were brought up, ready to mount. We
proceeded through the valley in several directions; rode all day and
returned to camp at night, stopping occasionally to pull up a weed or a
bush, to examine the quality of the soil.
At night, if an artist could have been present and taken a picture of
the group and the expressions of countenance, it certainly would have
been interesting: Spalding, Whitman, Pambrun, and Gray discussing the
quality of the soil, the future prospects of a mission, and of the
natives it was contemplated to gather around. No white settlement was
then thought of. They unanimously concluded that there was but a limited
amount of land susceptible of cultivation, estimated at the place for
the station at about ten acres. Along all the streams and at the foot of
the Blue Mountains, there might be found little patches of from half an
acre to six acres of land suitable to cultivate for the use of the
natives. This, to say the least, was not an overestimate of the
qualities of the soil that has proved, by twenty-five years' cultivation
without manure, to be richer to-day than soils of a different character
with all the manuring they have received. The great objection and most
discouraging indication to the party was the unlimited amount of caustic
alkali found all over those plains and all through the valley. This fact
alone proves the soil inexhaustible. All it requires is sufficient water
to wash from the surface the superabundant alkali that forms upon it.
Any cereals adapted to alkaline soil may be cultivated to any extent in
those valleys.
A stake was set to mark the place. Next day all returned to the fort,
and soon the mission tents, horses, goods, and cattle were upon the
ground and work commenced. The Indians, what few had not gone for
buffalo, came to our camp and rendered all the assistance they were
capable of in getting a house up and covered.
In a few days Spalding and Whitman started with the Nez Percés to look
at their country, in view of a location among them, leaving Gray alone
in charge of the building and goods, while they examined the country up
the Clearwater River, and selected a location in a beautiful valley
about two miles up the Lapwai Creek, and about twelve miles from
Lewiston. Whitman returned to assist in erecting buildings at his
station. Spalding started for Vancouver, to bring up the ladies. About
the middle of November, Mrs. Whitman's quarters were ready, and she came
to occupy them. Spalding and Gray, with Mrs. Spalding, started for the
Lapwai station; arrived about the 1st of December, 1836, and, with the
assistance of the Indians, in about twenty days a house was up, and Mrs.
Spalding occupied it.
It is due to those Indians to say that they labored freely and
faithfully, and showed the best of feelings toward Mr. and Mrs.
Spalding, paying good attention to instructions given them, and appeared
quite anxious to learn all they could of their teachers. It is also due
to truth to state that Mr. Spalding paid them liberally for their
services when compared with the amount paid them by the Hudson's Bay
Company for the same service: say, for bringing a pine-log ten feet long
and one foot in diameter from the Clearwater River to the station, it
usually took about twelve Indians; for this service Mr. Spalding paid
them about six inches of trail-rope tobacco each. This was about four
times as much as the Hudson's Bay Company paid. This fact soon created a
little feeling of unfriendliness toward Mr. Spalding. Dr. Whitman
managed to get along with less Indian labor, and was able, from his
location, to procure stragglers or casual men to work for him for a
time, to get supplies and clothing to help them on their way down to the
Wallamet settlement.
Mr. Spalding and Dr. Whitman were located in their little cabins making
arrangements to get in their gardens and spring crops, teaching the
Indians by example, and on the Sabbath interpreting portions of the
Bible to them, and giving them such religious instruction as they were
capable of communicating with their imperfect knowledge of their
language; Mrs. Whitman and Mrs. Spalding teaching the children at their
respective stations as much as was possible for them with their domestic
duties to perform.
All things going on smoothly at the stations and all over the Indian
country, it was thought advisable for Gray to visit Vancouver, procure
the requisite spring supplies, and a suitable outfit for himself to
explore the country, having in view further missionary locations, and
return to the United States and procure assistance for the mission.
Gray's expedition, as contemplated then, would not be considered with
present facilities a very light one. He started from Spalding's station
about the 22d of December, 1836. There had been about twenty inches of
snow upon the ground, but it was concluded from the fine weather at the
station that most of it had melted off. On reaching the forks of
Clearwater (Lewiston), he learned from the Indians that the snow was too
deep to go by land, sent his horses back to Spalding, got an Indian
dug-out, started from Lewiston for Wallawalla with two Indians to pilot
and paddle the canoe; reached the Paluce all safe; camped with the
Indians; found them all friendly; that night came on bitter cold;--river
full of floating ice; Indians concluded not safe to proceed further in
canoe; procure horses and start down on the right bank of the river;
travel all day; toward night, in passing over a high point, snow-storm
came on, lost our trail; struck a cañon, followed it down, found the
river and camped in the snow, turned our horses into the tall grass and
made the best of a snow-camp for the night. Next day start early; wallow
through the snow and drifts and reach an Indian camp near the mouth of
Snake River at night; leave horses; next morning get canoe, leave one
Paluce Indian; Paluce chief and chief of band at Snake River in canoe;
two Indians to paddle; pull down the river into the Columbia in the
floating ice, and reach Wallawalla, December 26, 1836; Pambrun pays
Indians what he thinks right: Paluce chief, for horses and services,
one three-point Hudson's Bay blanket, one check shirt, one knife, half a
brace (three feet) trail-rope tobacco. Gray thought the price paid was
very reasonable,--quite little enough for the labor, to say nothing of
the risk and suffering from cold on the trip. The river all closed up;
Indians did not reach their homes for eight days; no communication in
any direction for ten days. About the tenth day Whitman sends orders
down for goods to be shipped from Vancouver. About the 10th of January,
1837, Mr. Ermatinger arrived from Colville by boat, having made several
portages over ice in reaching Wallawalla. Next day we start down the
river; pass through and over several fields of ice; reach Vancouver
about the 12th of January. Rev. J. Lee and Mr. Slacum had just left the
fort as our party arrived. We have previously given an account of the
subjects of special interest, and also of the weddings that occurred
about this time at the fort.
CHAPTER XXII.
The French and American settlers.--Hudson's Bay Company's traveling
traders.--The Flatheads.--Their manner of
traveling.--Marriage.--Their honesty.--Indian fight and scalp
dance.--Making peace.--Fight with the Sioux.--At Council Bluffs.
The reader is already acquainted with all of the first missionaries, and
with the governing power and policy of the Hudson's Bay Company, and of
the different parties and organizations as they existed. We will now
introduce parties of men as we find them in the Wallamet settlement.
There were at this time about fifty Canadian-Frenchmen in the Wallamet
settlement, all of them retired servants of the Hudson's Bay Company.
These men, who had spent the most active part of their lives in the
service of the company, had become connected with native women, and
nearly all of them had their families of half-native children. This
class of servants were found by the experience of the company not as
profitable for their purposes as the enlisted men from the Orkney Isles,
or even the Sandwich Islanders.
They were induced to allow those that had families of half-native
children to retire from the service and settle in the Wallamet. In this
manner they expected to hold a controlling influence in the settlement,
and secure a population dependent upon them for supplies. It was upon
this half-breed population that they relied to rally the Indian warriors
of the country to prevent an American settlement. As was plainly stated
by one of the Hudson's Bay Company, Mr. F. Ermatinger, in the fall of
1838, in case any effort should be made to remove them from the country,
they had but to arm the eight hundred half-breeds the company had, and,
with the Indians they could control, they could hold the country against
any American force that could be sent into it. The Hudson's Bay Company
knew very well the power and influence they had secured over the
Indians. There was then too small a number of outside Americans to make
any effort to remove them, other than to afford them facilities to leave
the country. With all the facilities they furnished, and encouragement
they gave to go to the Sandwich Islands and to California, there was a
gradual increase of the population the company did not wish to
see;--sailors from vessels, and hunters from the mountains. These
sailors and hunters naturally gathered around the American mission;
many of them had, or soon took, native women for wives; the missionaries
themselves encouraged them to marry these women. This soon commenced an
influence exactly like that held by the Hudson's Bay Company through
their Canadian-French settlement. The moral and religious influence of
the English church had not been favorably received at Vancouver.
Gray procures his outfit at Vancouver, in January, 1837, and starts in
company with Ermatinger on his return. First night camp at a saw-mill;
meet a young man who had crossed the mountains with Captain Wyeth, and
had remained as clerk at Fort Hall, under the Hudson's Bay Company. This
young man has never risen very high in the community where he resides.
For a time he considered he was an important member of the Hudson's Bay
Company. His self-approbation was superior to the profits he brought to
the company, and they found it convenient to drop him from their employ.
He attempted a settlement out of the limits prescribed for Americans,
and was soon compelled to locate himself under the influence of the
Methodist Mission.
There was also in the settlement another young man, who about that time
had taken a native wife and wished to locate at the mouth of the
Columbia River. This privilege was denied him, unless he could procure
some others to go with him. He had joined the Methodist class, and was
considered a reliable man; he came to the country with Captain Wyeth,
and had opened and taught the first school ever commenced in the
country.
Ermatinger and company were detained fourteen days under the lee of a
big rock just opposite Cape Horn, waiting for the east wind to subside
and allow them to pass up the river. Ermatinger was a traveling trader
of the Hudson's Bay Company. That year he was with the Flathead tribe.
Gray continued with him, having his own tent and traveling equipage. The
route traveled was nearly that since explored and located as Mullan's
military road. We struck the Coeur d'Alêne Lake and took boats, passed
through the lake and up the Flathead River, making two portages with our
boats and goods before we reached Flathead House, as it was called, a
common log hut, covered with poles and dirt, about 16 by 20. At this
point our horses came up. Their packs and equipage were all put on board
the boats, while the horses came light through the woods and along the
rough river trail. At the place where we found our boats, we found a
number of friendly Indians, also at the head of the lake, and a few at
the Flathead House or hut. Here we found an old Frenchman in charge,
with a small supply of goods, and about two packs of beaver which he had
collected during the winter.
We were joined by a part of the Flathead tribe. In a few days all were
ready. The tribe and trader started over the mountains on to the waters
of the Missouri, to hunt the buffalo and fight the Blackfeet. Our route
was along the main branch of Clark's fork of the Columbia, till we
reached the Culas Patlum (Bitter Root). A halt was made to allow the
natives to dig and prepare the root for the season. The root is quite
nutritious, answering the Indian in place of bread; it is somewhat
bitter in taste, and to a person not accustomed to its use, is not a
very agreeable diet. This root secured for the season, the camp
continued over the dividing ridge into the Big Hole, or Jefferson fork
of the Missouri. In this place we were joined by the balance of the
buffalo Indians. All parties, persons, and property were carried upon
horses. The camps usually traveled from ten to fifteen miles per day. It
is due to this tribe to say that truth, honesty, and virtue were
cardinal principles in all their transactions. An article of property
found during the day was carried to an old chief's lodge; if it were so
light that he could hold it in his hand and walk through the camp, he
would pass around and inquire whose it was. Sometimes several articles
would be lost and picked up; in such cases the old chief would go
through the camp on horseback and deliver them to the owner.
Their system of courtship and marriage was equally interesting. A youth
wishing to marry a young miss was required to present a horse at the
lodge of his intended, ready for her to mount as the camp should move.
In case all were suited, her ladyship would mount the horse and ride it
during the day; at night a feast was had at the lodge of the bride, the
old chief announced the ceremony complete, and the parties proceeded to
their own home or lodge. In case the suit was rejected the horse was not
suitable; he was left for the owner to receive at his pleasure; the maid
mounted her own horse and proceeded about her business.
In case of any visitors from other tribes, which they frequently had in
going to buffalo, they would caution a stranger, and inform him of the
propensity to steal which they had learned was the habit of the Indian
visitor. This tribe claim to have never shed the blood of a white man. I
believe it is the only tribe on the continent truly entitled to that
honor; yet they are far more brave as a tribe than any other Indians.
They never fear a foe, no matter how numerous.
Our sketches perhaps would not lose in interest by giving a short
account of a fight which our Flathead Indians had at this place with a
war party of the Blackfeet. It occurred near the present location of
Helena, in Montana. As was the custom with the Flathead Indians in
traveling in the buffalo country, their hunters and warriors were in
advance of the main camp. A party of twenty-five Blackfeet warriors was
discovered by some twelve of our Flatheads. To see each other was to
fight, especially parties prowling about in this manner, and at it they
went. The first fire of the Flatheads brought five of the Blackfeet to
the ground and wounded some five more. This was more than they expected,
and the Blackfeet made but little effort to recover their dead, which
were duly scalped, and the bodies left for food for the wolves, and the
scalps borne in triumph into the camp. There were but two of the
Flatheads wounded: one had a flesh-wound in the thigh, and the other had
his right arm broken by a Blackfoot ball.
The victory was complete, and the rejoicing in camp corresponded to the
number of scalps taken. Five days and nights the usual scalp-dance was
performed. At the appointed time the big war-drum was sounded, when the
warriors and braves made their appearance at the appointed place in the
open air, painted as warriors. Those who had taken the scalps from the
heads of their enemies bore them in their hands upon the ramrods of
their guns.
They entered the circle, and the war-song, drums, rattles, and noises
all commenced. The scalp-bearers stood for a moment (as if to catch the
time), and then commenced hopping, jumping, and yelling in concert with
the music. This continued for a time, when some old painted women took
the scalps and continued the dance. The performance was gone through
with as many nights as there were scalps taken.
Seven days after the scalps were taken, a messenger arrived bearing a
white flag, and a proposition to make peace for the purposes of trade.
After the preliminaries had all been completed, in which the Hudson's
Bay Company trader had the principal part to perform, the time was fixed
for the meeting of the two tribes. The Flatheads, however, were all
careful to dig their war-pits, make their corrals and breastworks, and,
in short, fortify their camp as much as if they expected a fight instead
of peace. Ermatinger, the company's trader, remarked that he would
sooner take his chances for a fight off-hand than endure the anxiety and
suspense of the two days we waited for the Blackfeet to arrive. Our
scouts and warriors were all ready, and all on the watch for peace or
war, the latter of which, from the recent fight they had had, was
expected most. At length the Blackfeet arrived, bearing a red flag with
H. B. C. in white letters upon it, and advancing to within a short
distance of the camp, were met by Ermatinger and a few Flathead chiefs,
shook hands, and were conducted to the trader's lodge,--the largest one
in the camp,--and the principal chiefs of both tribes, seated upon
buffalo and bear skins, all went through with the ceremony of smoking a
big pipe, having a long handle or stem trimmed with horse-hair and
porcupine quills. The pipe was filled with the trader's tobacco and the
Indians' killikinick. The war-chiefs of each tribe took a puff each of
the pipe, passed it to his right-hand man, and so around till all the
circle had smoked of the big medicine pipe, or pipe of peace, which on
this occasion was made by the Indians from a soft stone which they find
in abundance in their country, having no extra ornamental work upon it.
The principal chief in command, or great medicine man, went through the
ceremony, puffed four times, blowing his smoke in four directions. This
was considered a sign of peace to all around him, which doubtless
included all he knew any thing about. The Blackfeet, as a tribe, are a
tall, well-formed, slim-built, and active people. They travel
principally on foot, and are considered very treacherous.
The peace made with so much formality was broken two days afterward by
killing two of the Flatheads when caught not far from the main camp.
It was from this Flathead tribe that the first Indian delegation was
sent to ask for teachers. Three of their number volunteered to go with
Gray to the States in 1837 to urge their claims for teachers to come
among them. The party reached Ash Hollow, where they were attacked by
about three hundred Sioux warriors, and, after fighting for three hours,
killed some fifteen of them, when the Sioux, by means of a French trader
then among them, obtained a parley with Gray and his traveling
companions,--two young men that had started to go to the States with
him. While the Frenchman was in conversation with Gray, the treacherous
Sioux made a rush upon the three Flatheads, one Snake, and one Iroquois
Indian belonging to the party, and killed them. The Frenchman then
turned to Gray and told him and his companions they were prisoners, and
must go to the Sioux camp, first attempting to get possession of their
guns. Gray informed them at once: "You have killed our Indians in a
cowardly manner, and you shall not have our guns," at the same time
telling the young men to watch the first motion of the Indians to take
their lives, and if we must die, to take as many Indians with us as we
could. The Sioux had found in the contest thus far, that,
notwithstanding they had conquered and killed five, they had lost
fifteen, among them one of their war-chiefs, besides several severely
wounded. The party were not further molested till they reached the camp,
containing between one and two hundred lodges. A full explanation was
had of the whole affair. Gray had two horses killed under him and two
balls passed through his hat, both inflicting slight wounds. The party
were feasted, and smoked the pipe of peace over the dead body of the
chief's son; next day they were allowed to proceed with nine of their
horses; the balance, with the property of the Indians, the Sioux
claimed as part pay for their losses, doubtless calculating to waylay
and take the balance of the horses. Be that as it may, Gray and his
young men reached Council Bluffs in twenty-one days, traveling nights
and during storms to avoid the Indians on the plains.
At Council Bluffs they found an Indian trader speaking the French
language, meaner than the Sioux Indian, by the name of Papeon. The party
had been twenty-one days on rations that ordinarily would have been
consumed in four days; they had killed and eaten parts of two of the
nine worn-out horses; they had with them six. The party entered the
trading establishment and requested some food and the privilege of
washing, not as beggars, but expecting to pay for what they required.
They waited an hour or more; no food was forthcoming; Gray went to
Papeon, the trader, and inquired the reason they could get no food. The
old French imp inquired, in his broken French, "_Have you got any ting
to pa for de tings you vant?_" He was asked if gold would pay him, or a
draft on his company. "Oh, yes," he said, and in a short time food and
what was required was produced.
This is only a specimen of most Indian traders of the Catholic stamp.
There are honorable exceptions.
CHAPTER XXIII.
Re-enforcement to the Methodist Mission.--Re-enforcement to the
mission of the American Board.
We will leave Gray and party on their way down the Missouri River, and
return to Oregon to introduce to the reader a re-enforcement to the
Methodist Mission, consisting of Dr. Elijah White, a man that few who
have dealt with can speak well of, utterly destitute of all morality and
genuine piety, assuming the garb of religion to cover his baseness of
heart and meanness of life. He arrived at the Columbia River in May,
1837. He entered upon his professional duties, and in a few months
boasted of the liberties he had taken with most of the ladies of the
mission who were so unfortunate as to receive his medical attention. It
was easy to see the influence of such a man. His words were smooth and
brotherly, his acts were poison and infamy. He never had a friend but he
betrayed or swindled him in some deal. He would tell a lie when the
truth would answer his purposes better. This man for a time had
considerable influence; his calling as a physician was necessary and
indispensable to the mission. Rev. Jason Lee soon found out the
character of this wolf in sheep's clothing, and presented charges
against him for his immorality, and expelled him from the mission.
Previous to leaving the country, he called a public meeting and made his
statements, and attempted to mob Mr. Jason Lee and get the settlers to
give him a character, in both of which he failed, and left the country
to impose upon the government at Washington, as he had done upon the
mission and the early settlers of Oregon. We will leave Dr. White for
the present, and give him all the credit due to his bad deeds and
exhibitions of folly in his capacity as sub-Indian agent.
Mr. Alanson Beers, a blacksmith by trade, was a good honest man, a
devoted Christian, a man whose moral worth was above price. True as
steel, and honest as he was faithful, he was slow to believe others to
be less true than himself. He was a pattern of honesty and piety, as
well as industry and economy; the opposite of White in every respect, as
was his wife when compared to Mrs. White. Though Mrs. Beers never
claimed or aspired to shine or display more than she really was, yet her
goodness of heart was manifested in her kind and generous treatment of
all. If this man and his wife did not leave a handsome competency for
their children it was no fault of theirs. Others may have felt it their
duty to appropriate the orphan's portion and receive the miser's
paradise. Mr. Beers came to the country full-handed, with a handsome
competency to commence any business he might choose, independent of
missionary patronage. He was more faithful in his department than most
of his brethren.
He was considered by the early settlers an honest and sincere man; by
the ruling spirits of the Methodist Mission, a faithful servant of their
cause.
With this company came W. H. Wilson, an assistant missionary, of whose
early life we have but little knowledge. From his own statements we
learn that he had been connected with a whale ship as cooper. On
arriving in Oregon as an assistant missionary, he was licensed as a
preacher, and commenced the study of medicine with Dr. White, and, in
later years, received the title of doctor instead of reverend. The
doctor was a cheerful, whole-souled, good-sort of a fellow, with a
greater abundance of interesting and funny yarns than profound medical
skill, which always made him agreeable, and served to gain friends and
popularity in a community that, as a general thing, would prefer a
tincture of humbuggery.
The Misses Ann Maria Pitman, Susan Downing, and Elvira Johnson were also
of this party. The first became the wife of Rev. Jason Lee, the second
of Cyrus Shepard, the third of Rev. H. K. W. Perkins, who came to the
country with the second re-enforcement to the mission, consisting of
Rev. David Leslie, wife, and three daughters; H. K. W. Perkins; and Miss
Margaret Smith, who afterward became the wife of an Englishman called
Dr. Bailey. This gave to the Methodist Mission, on the 21st of November,
1837, Rev. Jason Lee (superintendent of the mission) and wife, Mr. C.
Shepard and wife, Rev. Daniel Lee, Mr. P. L. Edwards, Rev. David Leslie
and wife, Dr. Elijah White and wife, Rev. H. K. W. Perkins and wife, Mr.
A. Beers and wife, Mr. W. H. Wilson, and Miss Margaret Smith,--nine men
and seven women,--with three daughters of Rev. D. Leslie. From causes
already mentioned, the moral strength of these early missionaries was
neutralized. The larger portion of them had no knowledge of the
influences that were sapping the foundation of their Christian effort,
and tending to destroy the confidence of such as were considered ungodly
outsiders. Instead of meeting sin, and vice, and lust which could not be
hid, and condemning and banishing it, the attempt was made to excuse and
cover up a fault in a professed brother, and reprove others for less
faults,--_the mote and the beam_. The legitimate result
followed,--though slow, yet certain. Here was a noble field, had all
the men sent to occupy it been of the right stamp! Still they toiled on,
or rather continued to occupy a place in the country, to form a nucleus
for a settlement. In this position they are entitled to much credit. The
roving sailor and the wild mountain hunter looked to this wilderness for
a home. The shrewdness of these men soon detected the assailable points
in the mission's character, and adapted themselves to circumstances, and
found it easy to profess compliance and receive the benefits of the
association. There were few or none among this early set of missionaries
that displayed much knowledge of human nature. They were totally
ignorant of savage life, manners, and customs; hence were easily made
the dupes of all.
In the winter of 1837-8, Gray is in the States giving an account of his
trip across the Rocky Mountains in company with Messrs. Spalding and
Whitman, and of his explorations of the country; the present and future
prospects of the missionary efforts; the influence of the Hudson's Bay
Company and of the missions; the fact that a wagon had been taken by Dr.
Whitman and his party to Fort Boise, and that it could be taken to the
Wallamet settlement. Said one man in the audience at Utica, New York:
"How do you get through the timber on the route?" "My dear sir, the
traveler is compelled to use the buffalo chips to cook his food for a
large part of the route, for want of wood; there is not twenty-five
miles of timber on the route from the Missouri to the Columbia." Of
course a description of the vast plains and mountains had to be given,
and the manner of travel and subsistence.
The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions sent with Gray
and wife, Rev. E. Walker and wife, C. Eells and wife, and A. B. Smith
and wife, to re-enforce their mission. There was with this company a
young man from Cincinnati, Ohio,--Cornelius Rogers,--active and useful
in every department, respected and beloved by all who knew him. After
remaining with the mission a few years, he received an appointment from
the Board, but he had made up his mind to become a settler in the
Wallamet, and made his arrangements accordingly. Captain Sutter came
with this party to Wallawalla.
They reached Whitman's station the first of September, 1838, bringing
with them to Fort Hall some fourteen cows. A majority of the party were
made to believe that these could be replaced at Fort Colville with a
better stock of cows, and thus be saved the trouble of driving them
further, and accordingly made an even exchange of the choicest and best
stock that could be found in Missouri for such California stock as the
Hudson's Bay Company might have at Colville. This was considered by the
_greenhorns_ that made the bargain a good trade, till they came to
receive the wild, furious, untamable California stock at Fort Colville,
that required a Spaniard with his lasso to catch and hold, to get the
milk for family use.
Rev. E. Walker was a tall, rather spare, stoop-shouldered, black-haired,
brown-eyed, rather light-complexioned man, diffident and unassuming,
always afraid to say _amen_ at the end of his prayers, and requiring
considerable effort to speak with confidence or decision upon any
subject. This might arise from habit, or want of decision of character,
or fear of offending. He had no positive traits of mind, yet he was
studious, and kind as a friend and neighbor; faithful as a Christian,
inefficient as a preacher. His efforts among the Indians were of the
negative cast. The Indians respected him for his kindness, and feared
him for his commanding appearance. Not at all adapted to fill the
position he undertook,--as an Indian missionary in Oregon,--yet, as a
citizen and settler, one of the best.
Rev. C. Eells, a short, slim, brown-haired, light-brown eyed,
fair-complexioned man, with a superabundance of self-esteem, great
pretensions to precision and accurateness of statement and strictness of
conduct; very precise in all his actions, and about all his labors and
property; with no soul to laud and admire nature, no ambition to lift
his thoughts beyond the sphere of his own ideas of right, he was made to
move in a small circle; his soul would be lost outside of it. There were
but two instances on the trip from Boston to Oregon in which he ventured
outside of himself. The first was at Soda Springs. The day the party
arrived, notwithstanding they had made a long day's drive to reach that
camp, the four ladies--Walker, Eells, Smith, and Gray--wished to go
round and see the springs and drink of the water, and look at the
Steamboat Spring, a place where water and gas issue at intervals of
about a minute, like the blowing of steam. These places the ladies,
tired as they were, must look at and admire. Rev. Mr. Eells puts up his
saddles, buckles, and tents, and takes his Testament and reads his
chapter, as usual, and after prayers retires to rest. Next morning all
were up and admiring the grand display of nature around, drinking of the
water, and enjoying its exhilarating influence. Camp all ready, on they
move. Nothing would satisfy the ladies but another look at the
Steamboat. All mounted their horses and rode down to it. Eells mounts
his horse as usual, and comes along down where all stood watching and
admiring the phenomenon, dismounts from his horse, and in utter
astonishment exclaims: "_Well, this is really worth coming to see!_" The
other instance in which he lost himself was in admiring the grandeur of
the great fall on Snake River. He had no poetry or romance in his soul,
yet by dint of perseverance he was a good artificial singer. He lacked
all the qualities requisite for a successful Indian missionary and a
preacher of the gospel in a new country. As citizens and neighbors, Mr.
Eells and his family were highly respected; as a teacher he was
unreasonably strict.
Rev. A. B. Smith, a man whose prejudices were so strong that he could
not be reasonable with himself. He attempted to make himself useful as a
missionary, but failed for want of Christian forbearance and confidence
in his associates. As to literary ability, he was superior to his
associates, and probably excited their jealousy; so much so, that his
connection in the mission became unpleasant, and he found an excuse to
leave the country in 1841; not, however, till he and Mr. Rogers had,
with the assistance of the Lawyer, completed a vocabulary and a grammar
of the Nez Percé language, which was the cause of Ellis's jealousy of
the Lawyer and Mr. Smith, and also of an extra effort through the
Jesuits and the company to get rid of him.
CHAPTER XXIV.
Arrival of Jesuit missionaries.--Toupin's statement about Rev. A.
B. Smith.--Death of Mrs. Jason Lee.--First express.--Jesuits at
work.--The first printing-press.--The Catholic tree.
A short time after the arrival of the re-enforcement to the mission of
the American Board, Rev. F. N. Blanchet and Rev. Demerse arrived at
Wallawalla by the annual overland boats of the Hudson's Bay Company.
While at Wallawalla, they induced a Cayuse, Young Chief, to have one of
his children baptized, Mr. Pambrun being sponsor, or godfather. This was
the first Indian child ever baptized in the country. It caused
considerable excitement among the Indians, as also a discussion as to
who was teaching the true religion. The interpreters of Wallawalla being
of the Catholic faith, made free to inform the Indians that theirs was
the true religion. The Indians soon came to the station of Dr. Whitman
and informed him of what had been done, and that they had been told by
the priest that his was the true religion; that what he and Mr. Spalding
had been teaching them for two years past was all false, and that it was
not right for the Indians to listen to the Doctor and Mr. Spalding. The
instructions given, and the baptizing of the Indian child, were,
unquestionably, designed to create a diversion in the minds of the
Indians, and ultimately bring about the abandonment or destruction of
the mission. I have never been able to learn, from any source, that any
other Indian child was baptized by these priests on that trip from
Canada to Vancouver. In fact, I see from their published works that they
claim this as their first station or place of instruction.
The Rev. Mr. Blanchet was a black-haired, brown-eyed, smooth-faced,
medium-sized Frenchman.
The Rev. Mr. Demerse had dark-brown hair, full, round eye, fair
complexion, rather full habit, something of the bull-neck, inclining to
corpulency. He was fond of good cheer and good living; of the Jesuit
order of the Roman church; he seemed to have no scruples of conscience;
so long as he could secure subjects for "_mother church_," it mattered
not as to intelligence or character.
During the year 1838, three clergymen arrived across the Rocky
Mountains: Revs. Walker, Eells, and Smith, with their wives, and Mr.
Cornelius Rogers, Mr. Gray, with his wife, had also returned. These new
arrivals gave an addition of nine to the mission of the American Board,
making their number thirteen in all. The Methodist Mission had sixteen,
and the Roman Catholic, two. The total number of missionaries in the
country, in December, 1838, was thirty-one, twenty-nine of the
Protestant religion from the United States, and two of the Roman
Jesuitical order. The latter were located at Vancouver as their
head-quarters. The Methodists were in the Wallamet Valley, with one
out-station at the Dalles, Wascopum. The American Board had three
stations, one at Wailatpu, one at Lapwai, and one at Cimakain, near
Spokan.
This array of missionary strength looked like a strong effort on the
part of the Christian world to convert the tribes upon our western
coast. Had all the men been chosen with proper care, and all acted with
a single eye to the cause which they professed to espouse, each in his
distinct department; had they closed their ears to the suggestions of
hypocritical fur traders, and met their vices with a spotless life and
an earnest determination to maintain their integrity as representatives
of religion and a Christian people, the fruits of their labor would,
undoubtedly, have been far greater. As the matter now stands, they can
claim the influence they reluctantly yielded to the provisional
government of the early settlers of the country.
It will be seen at once that the Hudson's Bay Company was acting a
double part with all the American missionary efforts in the country. On
the arrival of Rev. J. Lee and party they sent for Mr. Beaver, an
Episcopal clergyman. On the arrival of Dr. Whitman and party they sent
for Blanchet and Demerse, and established their head-quarters at
Vancouver. Blanchet took charge of the field occupied by the Methodists,
and Demerse of that occupied by the American Board. A combination of
Hudson's Bay Company Indian traders Roman priests, Protestant
missionaries, and American settlers, each having a distinct object in
view. Unfortunately for the American missionaries and settlers, there
was no one bold enough to attempt to act against these combinations.
Cornelius Rogers and Robert Shortess were the first to show signs of
rebellion against the policy of the Hudson's Bay Company; Spalding,
Whitman, and Smith chafed under the Jesuits' proceedings in the
interior.
"About the year 1839, in the fall, Mr. Smith, belonging to the same
society as Dr. Whitman and Mr. Spalding, asked permission of Ellis to
build upon his lands for the purpose of teaching the Indians as the
other missionaries were doing, and of keeping a school. Ellis allowed
him to build; but forbade him to cultivate the land, and warned him
that if he did the piece of ground which he would till should serve to
bury him in. In the following spring, however, Mr. Smith prepared his
plow to till the ground; and Ellis, seeing him ready to begin, went to
him and said to him: 'Do you not recollect what I told you? I do not
wish you to cultivate the land.' Mr. Smith, however, persisted in his
determination; but, as he was beginning to plow, the Indians took hold
of him and said to him: 'Do you not know what has been told you, that
you would be digging a hole in which you should be buried?' Mr. Smith
then did not persist any longer, but said to them: 'Let me go, I will
leave the place;' and he started off immediately. This circumstance had
been related to me by the Indians, and soon after I saw Mr. Smith myself
at Fort Wallawalla; he was on his way down to Fort Vancouver, where he
embarked for the Sandwich Islands, whence he did not come back any
more." This is the statement of old John Toupin, Pambrun's Roman
Catholic interpreter, by Brouillet.
It will be borne in mind that Rev. Jason Lee started with P. L. Edwards
and F. Y. Euing, across the Rocky Mountains, for the United States, in
May, 1838. He met Gray, and party, at the American rendezvous that year,
on the north fork of the Yellowstone River. Gray and party, on arriving
at Fort Hall, received the news of the death of Mrs. Jason Lee, sent by
Spalding and Whitman, and not by Dr. McLaughlin, as stated by Rev. G.
Hines. Dr. McLaughlin may have allowed a messenger to go as far as
Whitman's station, but made no arrangements for going any further.
Spalding's Indian messenger delivered the packages to Gray, at Fort
Hall. Gray employed Richardson a young man he had engaged as guide and
hunter for the party, on starting from Westport, Missouri, to take these
letters, and deliver them to Lee, for which he was to receive $150.
This express was carried from the Wallamet Valley to Westport, Missouri,
in _sixty days_, forming the first data for the overland express and
mail routes. The sixty days included two days' detention at Wailatpu,
and two at Fort Hall. It seems that Richardson, the messenger from Fort
Hall, met Lee, and delivered his packages to him at the Shawnee mission,
and received from Lee the price agreed upon. I am thus particular in
these little facts, that those who claim so much credit for Hudson's Bay
Company patronage may understand what influences were in those early
times bringing about results for which a combination of British fur
traders now claim pay, and are awarded $650,000, in gold coin.
I have said that in December, 1838, there were twenty-nine persons
connected with the Protestant missions in the country. This is not
strictly true, Rev. Jason Lee and Mr. P. L. Edwards had gone to the
States; Mr. C. Shepard and Mrs. J. Lee had gone to their reward. The
devil had entered the field with his emissaries, and was exceedingly
busy sowing tares among the wheat, through fear that the natives would
be benefited, and the country become civilized. The Hudson's Bay Company
and its servants, Indians and all, are about to become converted to
Christianity. Strange as this statement may appear, it is literally
true. The clerks, traders, and servants of the Hudson's Bay Company
became _catechists_, to teach the Indians to repeat the catechism
presented to them by their Reverences Blanchet and Demerse. Dr.
McLaughlin and Esquire Douglas were both zealous supporters of the
Christian reformation in progress in the country. During the year 1839,
"Rev. Mr. Demerse (Jesuit priest) spent three weeks at Wallawalla, _in
teaching the Indians and baptizing their children_," employing Mr. P. C.
Pambrun as his catechist, and godfather to the native children. (See
page 87 of Rev. J. B. A. Brouillet's "Protestantism in Oregon.") While
the Protestant missions were struggling to improve the condition of the
Indians, to teach them to cultivate their lands and become permanent
settlers in their own country, and to give the Indian children a
knowledge of books, the Hudson's Bay Company and Jesuit priests were
equally busy in attempting to persuade them that the instructions given
by these American or _Boston missionaries_ were only to cover up a
secret design they had to take their lands and property from them, and
eventually to occupy the country themselves. To a certain extent Dr.
Whitman's statement to them would confirm this idea. As soon as those
priests arrived and commenced their instructions, under the patronage of
the Hudson's Bay Company (for it will be remembered that their
head-quarters were at Vancouver), their entire transportation was
provided or furnished by the company. Doubtless it is to the assistance
rendered these Roman missions to occupy the country, that the counsel
for the Hudson's Bay Company, Mr. Charles D. Day, alludes, in speaking
of the "_substantial benefits to the people and government of the United
States_." Dr. Whitman repeatedly told the Indians about his station that
he did not come among them to buy their land, but he came to teach them
how to cultivate and live from what they produced from their own lands,
and at some future time, if the American government wished any of their
country, then the President would send men to buy and pay them for it.
The difficulty about land had no existence in the minds or thoughts of
the Indians till the fall of 1839, and after the renewal of the Hudson's
Bay Company's license for twenty-one years. From that time forward a
marked change was manifest in the feelings of most of the gentlemen of
the company.
The first printing-press in Oregon was received as a donation from the
mission of the American Board of Foreign Missions in the Sandwich
Islands, to the mission of the Board in Oregon. It reached its
destination at Lapwai, and was put in operation by Mr. E. O. Hall, of
the Sandwich Islands Mission, and commenced printing books in the Nez
Percé language. Both Mr. Rogers and Mr. Spalding soon learned to set
type, and print the small books required for the Indian schools that had
been kept at the stations. The books and instructions were furnished
gratuitously to all the Indians that wished to receive them. This caused
special efforts on the part of the priests to counteract the influence
of the books printed by Spalding. To illustrate their ideas, and show
the evil of heretical books and teachings, they had a representation of
a large tree, with a cross on top, representing all religious sects as
going up the tree, and out upon the different branches, and falling from
the end of the branch into a fire under the tree, with a priest by the
side of the fire throwing the heretical books into it. This was an
interesting picture, and caused much discussion and violent
denunciations among the Indians. Mr. Spalding, to counteract the
influences of the Roman Catholic tree among the Indians, had Mrs.
Spalding paint a number of sheets of cap-paper, commencing with Adam and
Eve in the garden of Eden, representing the shrubbery, and all kinds of
fruits, and the serpent, and the angel (after the fall) as guarding the
garden; giving the pictures of most of the prominent patriarchs; Noah
and the ark, and the prophets, down to Christ and the twelve apostles;
showing the crucifixion of Christ by the Roman soldiers, and on down to
the time when they adopted the cross as a form of worship, and the
priests as kneeling to images. Spalding's pictures were in such form,
and contained so much Bible history and information, that his Indian
preachers, to whom he gave them, could attract larger crowds of Indians,
to listen to the instructions given by Spalding, than those who had the
Catholic tree. This exasperated, or stirred up, as the Indians expressed
it, all their bad feelings toward each other, and caused quarrels
between those that were friends before,--a repetition of sectarian
quarrels in all ages, and among every people not understanding the true
principles of a genuine Christianity.
The main object of the priests was to destroy all interest in books, and
thereby check the growing influence of the American missionaries in the
country, substituting pictures and beads in place of knowledge.
CHAPTER XXV.
Independent missionaries arrive.--Their troubles.--Conversion of
Indiana at the Dalles.--Their motives.--Emigrants of
1839.--Blubber-Mouth Smith.--Re-enforcement of the Methodist
Mission in 1840.--Father De Smet.--Rev. Harvey Clark and
associates.--Ewing Young.--Names of missionaries and settlers.
In the fall of 1839, the Rev. J. S. Griffin and wife arrived at Dr.
Whitman's station. Mr. Griffin had undertaken an independent mission, in
company with a Mr. Munger and wife. They had received an outfit from
some warm-hearted Christians of the Litchfield North Association, of
Connecticut. Mr. Griffin reached St. Louis a single man, fell in love
and married on sight, I do not know whether it was first or second. At
all events, Rev. Mr. Griffin and Mr. Munger and their wives consented to
travel together till they reached Fort Hall, at which place Mr. Griffin,
being the getter-up of the mission and claiming ecclesiastical
jurisdiction, took it upon himself to leave Mr. Munger and his wife at
Fort Hall, to take care of themselves as best they could. Frank
Ermatinger, of the Hudson's Bay Company, at once furnished Mr. Munger
and his wife the means of transportation, and brought them to Dr.
Whitman's station, where he knew Mr. Munger could find a place for
himself and wife. This transaction of Mr. Griffin injured his usefulness
as a minister, and left him in the country but little inspected by any
who knew of his conduct to a fellow-traveler and an intelligent
Christian woman. The fact that Mr. Munger afterward became deranged, or
even that he was partially deranged at Fort Hall, or before they reached
that place, is no excuse for his treating a man in that condition and
his wife as he did. Mr. Griffin claims that Mr. Ermatinger stole three
of his horses, or had them hid, when at Fort Hall, to get Mr. Munger and
wife to travel with him, and, by so doing, give the impression that he
had abandoned them. From a careful review of Mr. Griffin's lengthy
defense in this case, we can not conceive that any further change or
correction is required, as the facts stated are by him admitted. From
Mr. Griffin's statement we are satisfied that improper and undue
influences were used to break up and defeat his Indian missionary plans
and settlement by Mr. Ermatinger and the Hudson's Bay Company, and also
to destroy his clerical influence in the country. Unfortunately, Mr.
Griffin gave too much cause for his enemies to do as they did.
In the winter of 1850, Mr. Griffin made an attempt to pass the Salmon
River Mountains to Payette River, to establish a mission among the Snake
Indians in which he failed and found his way into the Wallamet as a
settler, where he still remains.
There were with Mr. Griffin's party some four men, one by the name of
Ben Wright, who hail been a Methodist preacher in the States, but whose
religion failed him on his way over the mountains. He reached the
Dalles, where he renewed his religion under Rev. Mr. Perkins and D. Lee.
While at the Dalles, the three clergymen succeeded in converting, as
they supposed, a large number of the Indians. While this Indian revival
was in progress the writer had occasion to visit Vancouver. On his way,
he called on the missionaries at the Dalles, and, in speaking of the
revival among the Indians, we remarked that, in our opinion, most of the
religious professions of the natives were from _selfish motives_. Mr.
Perkins thought not; he named one Indian that, he felt certain, was
really converted, if there was a true conversion. In a short time Daniel
Lee, his associate, came in, and remarked: "What kind of a proposition
do you think ---- (naming Mr. Perkins' truly converted Indian) has made to
me?" Perkins replied: "Perhaps he will perform the work we wished him to
do." "No," says Lee; "he says he _will pray a whole year if I give him
a shirt and a capote_." This fact shows that the natives who were
supposed to be converted to Christianity were making these professions
to gain presents from the missionaries. We have witnessed similar
professions among the Nez Percé and Cayuse Indians. The giving of a few
presents of any description to them induces them to make professions
corresponding to the wish of the donor.
With Messrs. Griffin, Munger, and Wright, came Messrs. Lawson, Keiser,
and Geiger, late in the fall of 1839; also a man by the name of Farnam,
who seemed to be an explorer or tourist. I met him at Vancouver, where
he was receiving the hospitality of the Hudson's Bay Company, and
collecting material for a journal, or history of Oregon. It is said of
him that, on starting from the States, he succeeded in getting himself
appointed captain of a company consisting of some fourteen men. He soon
attempted to exercise absolute control of the company, which caused a
division. The party voted to suspend his official functions, and finally
suspended him and expelled him from the train. On returning to the
States he published a book, which, as was to be expected, was favorable
to himself and friends (if he had any), and severe on his opposers or
enemies. The professed object of the party was to form a settlement in
Oregon. In consequence of the course pursued by Farnam, it all broke
up. A man called Blubber-Mouth Smith, Blair, a millwright, and Robert
Shortess were of the party. These all found their way into Oregon, while
the balance of the party went south and wintered in the mountains. Mr.
Farnam was furnished a free passage to the Sandwich Islands by the
Hudson's Bay Company, for which his traveling companions and those best
acquainted with him have given the company credit, as one good act.
Sydney Smith--called "Blubber-Mouth," from the fact that he was a great
talker and fond of telling _big yarns_, which he, no doubt, had repeated
so often that he believed them to be true, and would appear somewhat
offended if his statements were not believed by others--had a tolerably
fair education, and appeared to understand the lottery business, as
conducted in some of the States. He was a man who had read considerable
in his early days, and had he been less boisterous and persistent in
statements that appeared improbable to others, would have been far more
reliable and useful. As it was, in those early times, his knowledge and
free-speaking became quite useful, when combined with the hearty action
he gave to the objects in contemplation. He was ambitious and extremely
selfish, and, when opposed in his plans, quite unreasonable.
Robert Shortess possessed a combination of qualities such as should have
formed one of the best and noblest of men; with a good memory, extensive
reading, inflexible purpose, strong hate, affectionate and kind,
skeptical and religious, honest and liberal to a fault, above medium
height, light-brown hair, blue eyes, and thin and spare features. His
whole life is a mystery, his combinations a riddle. He early entered
with heart and soul into the situation and condition of the settlements,
and stood for their rights in opposition to all the combined influences
in the country. As a politician he acts on the principle of right,
without any regard to expediency. As a religious man he has no faith; as
a skeptic he is severe on all alike. The country owes much to him for
his labor and influence in combating slavery and shaping the organic
policy of the settlements.
At the close of 1839, there were ten Protestant ministers and two Roman
priests, two physicians, six laymen, and thirteen American women in the
country--twenty-nine in all--connected with the Protestant missions, or
under their immediate control, and twenty settlers, besides about ten
men that were under the control of the Hudson's Bay Company, yet having
strong American feelings. There were also ten American children, five of
them born in the country. Mrs. Whitman gave birth to the first white
child, a daughter, born on this coast, who was drowned in the Wallawalla
River at about two years of age; Mrs. Spalding the second, a daughter,
still living; Mrs. Elkanah Walker the first boy, and Mrs. W. H. Gray,
the second. These boys are both making good names for themselves. It is
to be hoped that every act and effort of their lives will be alike
honorable to their parents, themselves, and their native country. As to
the first daughter of Oregon, I regret to say, she disobeyed the wish of
her parents and friends, and married a man whose early education was
neglected, but who has natural ability and energy to rise above his
present position, obtain an education, and become an ornament to his
adopted country, and an honor to Oregon's eldest daughter.
On the first of June of this year, the _Lausanne_, Captain Spalding,
arrived in the Columbia River with a re-enforcement for the Methodist
Mission of eight clergymen, five laymen, and one physician, all with
wives, five single ladies, and fifteen children, belonging to the
different families, with a full supply of goods, such as were needed and
appropriate for the settlement, the various missions, and for Indian
trade. September following, Rev. Harvey Clark and wife, A. T. Smith and
wife, and P. B. Littlejohn and wife, arrived across the Rocky Mountains.
With this company came eleven mountain men, eight of them with native
wives. We now had twenty-one Protestant ministers, three Roman priests,
fifteen lay members of the Protestant Church, thirty-four white women,
thirty-five American settlers, and thirty-two white children--one
hundred and eight persons immediately under control of the missions.
Thirty-six settlers, twenty-five of them with native wives. These
thirty-six settlers are counted as outside the missions and Hudson's Bay
Company. There were about fifty Canadian-French under the control of the
company.
Thus we can begin to see the development of the three influences or
parties. The Hudson's Bay Company had in their religious element three
Romish priests, assisted actively by all the Canadian-French Catholics
and such clerks as Pambrun, Guinea, Grant, and McBean, with such
interpreters as old Toupin, of whom Mr. Parker, in his journal, says:
"The interpreter I had been expecting did not arrive, and consequently
much of what I wished to say to these hundreds of Indians could not be
communicated for want of a medium." On the preceding page, Mr. Parker
remarks: "But as I have little prospect of the arrival of my
interpreter, I shall probably be left to commiserate their anxiety,
while it will be out of my power to do them good."
Old John Toupin, under the sanctity of a Roman Catholic oath, says, at
St. Louis, of Wallamet, on September 24, 1848; "I have been seventeen
years employed as interpreter at Fort Wallawalla. I was there when Mr.
Parker, in 1835, came to select places for Presbyterian missions among
the Cayuses and Nez Percés, and to ask lands for those missions. He
employed _me as interpreter_ in his negotiations with the Indians on
that occasion." Mr. Parker has just said "_the interpreter I had been
expecting did not arrive_." Toupin says: "Mr. Pambrun, the gentleman
then in charge of the fort, accompanied me to the Cayuses and Nez
Percés. Mr. Parker, in company with Mr. Pambrun, an American, and
myself, went first to the Cayuses, upon the lands called Wailatpu, that
belonged to three chiefs,--Splitted Lip, or Yomtip; Red Cloak, or
Waptachtakamal; and Feather Cap, or Tilokaikt." Having met them at that
place, he told them that he was coming to select a place to build a
preaching-house, to teach them how to live, and to teach school to their
children, and that he would not come himself to establish the mission,
but a _doctor, or medicine man_, would come in his place; that the
doctor would be the chief of the mission, and would come in the
following spring. "I came to select a place for a mission," said he,
"_but I do not intend to take your lands for nothing_. After the doctor
is come, there will come every year a _big ship loaded with goods_ to be
divided among the Indians. These goods will not be _sold_, but _given_
to you. The mission will bring you plows and hoes to learn you how to
cultivate the land, and they will not sell, but give them to you." From
the Cayuses Mr. Parker went to the Nez Percés, and there he made the
same promises to the Indians as at Wailatpu. "Next spring there will
come a missionary to establish himself here and take a piece of land;
_but he will not take it for nothing, you shall be paid every year; this
is the American fashion_." This statement is made by authority of Rev.
J. B. A. Brouillet; vicar-general of Wallawalla.
Rev. Mr. Parker, as before remarked, and as his journal shows, soon
understood all the maneuverings of this Hudson's Bay Company. He had no
confidence in their friendship or their interpreters. As a matter of
policy they could do no less than treat him kindly, or, more properly,
_civilly_, and allow him to leave the country, as he did. But mark the
strictness and care of the company to impress the necessity of
compliance with their arrangements upon the minds of those that followed
Mr. Parker. Keep the _massacre_ to which Vicar-General Brouillet refers
before your mind. _Life and blood and treasure have been expended._ The
fair land we inhabit was not secured without a struggle. The early
Protestant missions were not defeated and broken up without outside
influences. The Indians were not abandoned till they had dipped their
hands in the blood of their best and truest friend, and "become
seven-fold more the children of the devil than they were in their native
state," by the teachings they had received from _malicious_ and
_interested parties_ to make them so.
Father P. J. De Smet, from Brouillet's statements, was among the
Flatheads and at Wallawalla in 1840. This priest boasted of his
belonging to the Jesuit order of the Romish Church. He usually wore a
black frock-coat, was of full habit, arrogant and bigoted in his
opinions, and spoke with considerable sarcasm and contempt of all
Americans, and especially of the missionaries, as an ignorant set of men
to represent the American churches. He would be considered, in his
church, a zealous and faithful priest of the order of Jesus. His
religious instructions to the Indians were simple and easy to be
understood: "_Count your beads, hate or kill the Suapies_ (Americans),
_and kiss the cross_."
Rev. Harvey Clark was a man whose religion was practical, whose labors
were without ceasing, of slender frame, black hair, deep, mellow voice,
kind and obliging to all. He organized the first Congregational Church
in Tualatin Plains, and one in Oregon City, and was the getter-up of the
Pacific University at Forest Grove; a warm friend to general education
and all objects calculated to do good to any and all of his
fellow-creatures. But few who knew him did not respect and esteem him
for his sincere piety and Christian conduct. He came to the country as a
missionary sent out by some of the northwestern churches in the United
States, without any definite organization further than sufficient to
furnish the means for outfit for himself and associates,--Smith and
Littlejohn and their wives,--trusting Providence and their own strong
arms and willing hearts to labor and do all they could for a
subsistence. Mr. Clark was perhaps the best man that could have been
sent with the early settlers. He early gained their confidence and
esteem, and was always a welcome visitor among them. He had not that
stern commanding manner which is usual to egotists of the clerical
order, but was of the mild, persuasive kind, that wins the rough heart
and calms the stormy passions. The country is blessed by his having
lived in it.
A. T. Smith, the associate of Rev. H. Clark was an honest and
substantial farmer, a sincere and devout Christian, a man not forward in
forming society, yet firm and stable in his convictions of right;
liberal and generous to all objects of real worth; not easily excited,
or ambitious of political preferment. His wife seemed, in all her life
and actions, to be a suitable helpmeet for him. They came early to this
country, and have ever been substantial and useful citizens, and
supporters of morality and religion. They were among the earliest
settlers at Forest Grove, and the first members of Rev. H. Clark's
church.
P. B. Littlejohn was the opposite of Smith, a confirmed hypochondriac;
yet, under excitement that was agreeable to his ideas, a useful man.
Owing to his peculiar temperament, or the disease with which he was
afflicted, his usefulness, and that of an interesting and Christian
wife, were cramped and destroyed. He returned to the States with his
family in 1845.
At this point, perhaps a statement of all the names of persons I have
been able to collect and recollect, and the year they arrived in the
country, will not be uninteresting to the reader. A short history of
most of them has already been given.
In the year 1834, Rev. Jason Lee, Rev. Daniel Lee, Cyrus Shepard, and P.
L. Edwards, connected with the Methodist Mission; Captain N. Wyeth,
American fur trader, and of his party in 1832, S. H. Smith, Burdet,
Greeley, Sergeant, Bull, St. Clair, and Whittier (who was helped to or
given a passage to the Sandwich Islands by the Hudson's Bay Company);
Brock, a gunsmith; Tibbets, a stone-cutter; Moore, killed by the
Blackfeet Indians; Turnbull, who killed himself by overeating at
Vancouver. There was also in the country a man by the name of Felix
Hathaway, saved from the wreck of the _William and Ann_. Of this number,
Smith, Sergeant, Tibbets, and Hathaway remained. Of the party in 1834,
James A. O'Neil, T. J. Hubbard, and Courtney M. Walker remained in the
country, making six of Wyeth's men and one sailor. C. M. Walker came
with Lee's company. With Ewing Young, from California, came, in this
year, John McCarty, Carmichael, John Hauxhurst, Joseph Gale, John
Howard, Kilborn, Brandywine, and George Winslow, a colored man. By the
brig _Maryland_, Captain J. H. Couch, G. W. Le Breton, John McCaddan,
and William Johnson. An English sailor, by the name of Richard or Dick
McCary, found his way into the settlement from the Rocky Mountains.
In the year 1835 it does not appear that any settlers arrived in the
country. Rev. Samuel Parker visited and explored it under the direction
of the American Board of Foreign Missions.
In 1836, Rev. H. Spalding, Dr. M. Whitman, W. H. Gray, Mrs. Eliza
Spalding, and Mrs. Narcissa Whitman, missionaries of the American Board,
and Rev. Mr. Beaver, Episcopal chaplain at Vancouver, and Mrs. Beaver.
There appear to have been no settlers this year; at least, none known to
us.
In 1837, Mrs. A. M. Lee, Mrs. S. Shepard, Dr. E. White, Mrs. M. White,
A. Beers, Mrs. R. Beers, Miss E. Johnson, W. H. Wilson, Mr. J. Whitcomb,
members of the Methodist Episcopal Mission. Second re-enforcement this
year: Rev. H. K. W. Perkins, Rev. David Leslie, Mrs. Leslie, Misses
Satira, Mary, and Sarah Leslie, Miss Margaret Smith, Dr. J. Bailey, an
Englishman, George Gay, and John Turner.
In 1838, Rev. Elkanah Walker, Mrs. Mary Walker, Rev. Cushing Eells, Mrs.
Elvira Eells, Rev. A. B. Smith, Mrs. E. Smith, and Mrs. Mary A. Gray,
missionaries of the American Board. As laborers under special contract
not to trade in furs or interfere with Hudson's Bay Company's trade,
James Conner, native wife, and one child, and Richard Williams, both
from Rocky Mountains. Jesuit priests: Rev. F. N. Blanchet, Rev. Demerse,
located at Vancouver and French Prairie.
In 1839, Rev. J. S. Griffin, Mrs. Griffin, Asael Munger, Mrs. Mary
Munger, Independent Protestant Mission; Robert Shortess, J. Farnam,
Sydney Smith, Mr. Lawson, Rev. Ben. Wright (Independent Methodist), Wm.
Geiger, Mr. Keizer, John Edmund Pickernel, a sailor.
In 1840, Mrs. Lee, second wife of Rev. Jason Lee; Rev. J. H. Frost and
wife; Rev. A. F. Waller, wife, and two children; Rev. W. W. Kone and
wife; Rev. G. Hines, wife, and sister; Rev. L. H. Judson, wife, and two
children; Rev. J. L. Parish, wife, and three children; Rev. G. P.
Richards, wife, and three children; Rev. A. P. Olley and wife. Laymen:
Mr. George Abernethy, wife, and two children; Mr. H. Campbell, wife, and
one child; Mr. W. W. Raymond and wife; Mr. H. B. Brewer and wife; Dr. J.
L. Babcock, wife, and one child; Rev. Mrs. Daniel Lee; Mrs. David
Carter; Mrs. Joseph Holman; Miss E. Phillips. Methodist Episcopal
Protestant Mission: Rev. Harvey Clark and wife; P. B. Littlejohn and
wife. Independent Protestant Mission: Robert Moore, James Cooke, and
James Fletcher, settlers. Jesuit Priest: P. G. De Smet, Flathead
Mission.
Rocky Mountain men with native wives: William Craig, Robert or Dr.
Newell, J. L. Meek, James Ebbets, William M. Dougherty, John Larison,
George Wilkinson, a Mr. Nicholson, and Mr. Algear, and William Johnson,
author of the novel, "Leni Leoti; or, the Prairie Flower." The subject
was first written and read before the Lyceum, at Oregon City, in 1843.
In the above list I have given the names of all the American settlers,
as near as I can remember them, the list of names I once collected
having been lost. I never was fully informed as to the different
occupations of all these men. It will be seen that we had in the country
in the fall of 1840 thirty-six American settlers, twenty-five of them
with native wives; thirty-three American women, thirty-two children,
thirteen lay members of the Protestant missions, nineteen ministers
(thirteen Methodist, six Congregational), four physicians (three
American and one English), three Jesuit priests, and sixty
Canadian-French,--making, outside of the Hudson's Bay Company, one
hundred and thirty-seven Americans and sixty-three Canadians, counting
the three priests as Canadians.
CHAPTER XXVI.
1840.--Petition to Congress of United States.--British subjects
amenable to the laws of Canada.--Esquire Douglas as justice of the
peace.--Mr. Leslie as judge.
Eighteen hundred and forty finds Oregon with her little population all
active and busy, laboring and toiling to provide the necessaries of
life--food and raiment. And if a man did not wear the finest of
broadcloth, his intelligence and good conduct secured him a cordial
welcome to every house or shanty in the country among the American or
French settlers and missions. This was an innovation upon Hudson's Bay
Company customs, and a violation of aristocratic rules sought to be
enforced by foreign influences and sustained by the missionaries then in
the country.
Mr. Hines, in his 21st chapter on Oregon, says: "The number of people in
the colony was so small, the business transactions so limited, and the
difficulties so few, that the necessity of organizing the community into
a body politic did not appear to be very great, though for two years
persons had been chosen to officiate as judges and magistrates."
The fact that the judges and magistrates officiating were chosen by the
Methodist Mission, in opposition to the wish of the settlers, and from
whose decisions there was no appeal, and that there was no statute or
law book in the country, and nothing to guide the decisions of the judge
or magistrate but his own opinions, caprice, or preferences, Mr. Hines
leaves out of sight. This state of things was submitted to from the
combined organized influence of the Methodist Mission and the
unorganized condition of the settlers. A petition was gotten up and sent
to Congress. This petition is too important a document to be omitted.
The writer has no means at present to give the names attached to it. The
petition speaks for itself. As settlers, we saw and knew the objects of
the Hudson's Bay Company and the English government, by their actions
and oft-repeated insolent assertions that they meant to "_hold the
country_" _by fair or by foul means_, which, as men understanding the
unscrupulous and avaricious disposition of the entire English occupants
of this country, we fully understood and duly appreciated, as will be
readily demonstrated upon a perusal of the following:--
_Petition of 1840._
To the Honorable the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled:
Your petitioners represent unto your honorable bodies, that they
are residents in the Oregon Territory, and citizens of the United
States, or persons desirous of becoming such.
They further represent to your honorable bodies, that they have
settled themselves in said Territory, under the belief that it was
a portion of the public domain of said States, and that they might
rely upon the government thereof for the blessings of free
institutions, and the protection of its arms.
But your petitioners further represent, that they are uninformed of
any acts of said government by which its institutions and
protection are extended to them; in consequence whereof, themselves
and families are exposed to be destroyed by the savages around
them, and OTHERS THAT WOULD DO THEM HARM.
And your petitioners would further represent, that they have no
means of protecting their own and the lives of their families,
other than self-constituted tribunals, originated and sustained by
the power of an ill-instructed public opinion, and the resort to
force and arms.
And your petitioners represent these means of safety to be an
insufficient safeguard of life and property, and that the crimes of
_theft_, _murder_, _infanticide_, _etc._, are increasing among them
to an alarming extent; and your petitioners declare themselves
unable to arrest this progress of crime, and its terrible
consequences, without the aid of the law, and tribunals to
administer it.
Your petitioners therefore pray the Congress of the United States
of America to establish, as soon as may be, a Territorial
government in the Oregon Territory.
And if reasons other than those above presented were needed to
induce your honorable bodies to grant the prayer of the
undersigned, your petitioners, they would be found in the value of
this Territory to the nation, and the alarming circumstances that
portend its loss.
Your petitioners, in view of these last considerations, would
represent, that the English government has had a surveying squadron
on the Oregon coast for the last two years, employed in making
accurate surveys of all its rivers, bays, and harbors; and that,
recently, the said government is said to have made a grant to the
Hudson's Bay Company, of all lands lying between the Columbia River
and Puget Sound; and that said company is actually exercising
unequivocal acts of ownership over said lands thus granted, and
opening extensive farms upon the same.
And your petitioners represent, that these circumstances, connected
with other acts of said company to the same effect, and _their
declarations that the English government own and will hold, as its
own soil_, that portion of Oregon Territory situated north of the
Columbia River, together with the important fact that the said
company are cutting and sawing into lumber, and shipping to foreign
ports, vast quantities of the finest pine-trees upon the navigable
waters of the Columbia, have led your petitioners to apprehend that
the English government do intend, at all events, to hold that
portion of this Territory lying north of the Columbia River.
And your petitioners represent, that the said Territory, north of
the Columbia, is an invaluable possession to the American Union;
that in and about Puget Sound are the only harbors of easy access,
and commodious and safe, upon the whole coast of the Territory; and
that a great part of this said northern portion of the Oregon
Territory is rich in timber, water-power, and _valuable minerals_.
For these and other reasons, your petitioners pray that Congress
will establish its sovereignty over said Territory.
Your petitioners would further represent, that the country south of
the Columbia River, and north of the Mexican line, and extending
from the Pacific Ocean one hundred and twenty miles into the
interior, is of unequaled beauty and fertility. Its mountains,
covered with perpetual snow, pouring into the prairies around their
bases transparent streams of the purest water; the white and black
oak, pine, cedar, and fir forests that divide the prairies into
sections convenient for farming purposes; the rich mines of coal in
its hills, and salt springs in its valleys; its quarries of
limestone, sandstone, chalk, and marble; the salmon of its rivers,
and the various blessings of the delightful and healthy climate,
are known to us, and impress your petitioners with the belief that
this is one of the most favored portions of the globe.
Indeed, the deserts of the interior have their wealth of pasturage;
and their lakes, evaporating in summer, leave in their basins
hundreds of bushels of the purest soda. Many other circumstances
could be named, showing the importance of this Territory in a
national, commercial, and agricultural point of view. And, although
your petitioners would not undervalue considerations of this kind,
yet they beg leave especially to call the attention of Congress to
their own condition as an infant colony, without military force or
civil institutions to protect their lives and property and
children, sanctuaries and tombs, from the hands of uncivilized and
merciless savages around them. We respectfully ask for the civil
institutions of the American Republic. We pray for the high
privileges of American citizenship; the peaceful enjoyment of life;
the right of acquiring, possessing, and using property; and the
unrestrained pursuit of rational happiness. And for this your
petitioners will ever pray.
DAVID LESLIE, [_and others_.][1]
[Footnote 1] Senate Document, Twenty-sixth Congress, first
session. No. 514.
We have before alluded to the fact that the English government, by act
of Parliament, had extended the colonial jurisdiction and civil laws of
Canada over all her subjects on this coast, and had commissioned James
Douglas, Angus McDonald, and, I think, Mr. Wark, as justices of the
peace, having jurisdiction in civil cases not exceeding two hundred
pounds sterling. In criminal cases, if the magistrate found, on
examination, sufficient cause, the accused was to be sent to Canada for
final trial. In all minor matters the Hudson's Bay Company were
absolute. Their men, by the articles of enlistment, were bound to obey
all orders of a superior officer, as much so as a soldier in the army.
Flogging was a common punishment inflicted by all grades of officers,
from a petty clerk of a trading-post up to the governor of the company.
All British subjects, or any that had been subjects to the British
crown, were considered as amenable to the laws of Canada, which were
delivered from the brain of the magistrate or judge, who perchance may
have passed through some parts of Canada on his way to this coast, no
one knew when. Of course he knew all about the laws he was to enforce
upon her Majesty's subjects, the same as our American judge, I. L.
Babcock, did of the laws he was called upon to administer among the
American settlers. Although the following incident is not exactly in the
order of time in which we are writing, yet it illustrates the legal
knowledge of Esquire Douglas so well that the reader will excuse me for
giving it just here. The case occurred in the summer of 1846, I think in
August. The Hudson's Bay Company and the British subjects in the country
had changed from the open opposition policy to that of union with the
provisional government, and some of the members of the company had been
elected to office. Mr. Douglas had received a commission as justice of
the peace and county judge from Governor Abernethy. A man by the name of
McLame had taken it into his head to jump a claim belonging to one of
the company's servants, near Fort Vancouver. The fact was duly stated to
Esquire Douglas, who issued his warrant commanding the sheriff, a
servant of the company, to arrest McLame. The sheriff proceeded with his
warrant and posse, took McLame, brought him to the fort, and put him in
irons to keep him secure until he could be tried. The day following,
the writer arrived at the fort, and as he was an old acquaintance of
Esquire Douglas, and also holding a commission of justice of the peace
and judge of the county court, Esquire Douglas stated the case to him,
and asked his advice how to conduct it. I inquired what it was McLame
had done.
"Why, he went upon the land of one of our people and set up a claim to
it, and made some threats."
"Did he use any weapons, or injure any one?"
"No; but he was very insulting, as the men tell me; used abusive
language and frightened the men, and attempted to get them off the
claim, is the most he did."
"Well, Esquire, I think if you do not manage this case carefully you
will have a devil of a muss among these fellows."
"What do you think I had better do?" says the Esquire.
"If it was my case, as it is yours, I would call the court as soon as
possible, and call the parties. McLame claims to know something of law,
and he will plead his own case, or get some one that don't know any more
about law than he does, and they will call for a nonsuit on account of
some illegality in the warrant or pleadings, and the first show you
have, give them a nonsuit, and decide against your own people. This will
satisfy McLame and his party, and the matter will end there. The suit is
a civil one, and should have been by notice and summons, for 'forcible
entry and detainer,' instead of an arrest and confinement as a criminal.
They may attempt to make false imprisonment out of it. If they do, I
would settle it the best way I could."
I never learned the exact manner in which this case was settled. I think
McLame received some compensation and the matter was settled. But the
Esquire never fully recovered from the effect of this legal attempt at
provisional American wisdom, as he came as near involving the two
governments in a national war in the San Juan boundary question, in
1849, as he did the country, in attempting to protect the unreasonable
claims of the company's servants in 1846. As to law books or legal
knowledge, the country in those early times could not boast of having an
extensive law library or profound lawyers, and, as was to be expected,
some new and strange lawsuits occurred.
Of the following case we have no personal knowledge, and can only give
it as related to us by parties present. T. J. Hubbard, of Champoeg, had
a native wife. She was claimed and coveted by a neighbor of his, who
threatened to take her from him. Hubbard was armed, and prepared to
defend his own supposed or real right of possession from his covetous
neighbor, who attempted to enter his cabin window, or space where a
window might be put (in case the owner had one to go there). Hubbard
shot him while attempting to enter, and submitted to a trial. Rev. Mr.
Leslie presided as judge. A jury was called, and the statements of all
parties that pretended to know any thing about the case made. The
verdict was, "Justifiable homicide." The petition which was gotten up
about this time, says that "theft, murder, and infanticide, are
increasing among them to an alarming extent." A fact was unquestionably
stated in the petition, that justice and virtue were comparative
strangers in the country. Despotism and oppression, with false notions
of individual rights and personal liberty, were strongly at variance.
The leading men, or such as one would naturally suppose to be guides of
the erring, seemed to have fixed a personal standard for virtue,
justice, and right, not difficult for the most abandoned to comply
with.
CHAPTER XXVII.
Death of Ewing Young.--First public attempt to organize a
provisional government.--Origin of the provisional
government.--First Oregon schooner.
In the early part of this year, about the 15th of February, 1841, Mr.
Ewing Young, having been sick but a short time, died. He left a large
band of cattle and horses and no will, and seems to have had no heirs in
the country. On the 17th we find most of the settlers present at the
funeral. After burying Mr. Young, a meeting was called, over which Rev.
Jason Lee presided. After some discussion it was thought best to adjourn
to meet at the Methodist Mission.
On the next day, the 18th, short as the notice was, nearly all the
settlers were present,--Canadians, French, English, Americans, and
Protestant missionaries and Jesuit priests.
Rev. Jason Lee, for some cause not stated, was excused from acting as
chairman, and Rev. David Leslie elected to fill his place. Rev. Gustavus
Hines and Sydney Smith were chosen as secretaries. "The doings of the
previous day were presented to the assembly and adopted in part." Why
does not Mr. Hines give us all the proceedings of the previous day? Was
there any thing in them that reflected upon the disposition of the
reverend gentleman to control the property of the deceased Mr. Young,
and apply it to the use of the mission, or distribute it among its
members?
We are well aware of the fact that, on the death of a person in any way
connected with, or in the service of, the Hudson's Bay Company, they at
once administer upon his estate, to the setting aside of the will of the
deceased, as in the case of Mr. P. C. Pambrun, which occurred the summer
before Mr. Young's decease; and, more recently, of Mr. Ray, who died at
San Francisco. Mr. Ray was an active, energetic young man, had won the
heart and hand of Miss McLaughlin, youngest daughter of Governor
McLaughlin, and by this marriage had three interesting children, a son
and two daughters. By his trading and speculations with his private
funds, he had acquired a handsome fortune for his young family. At his
death the Hudson's Bay Company sent an agent to take charge of the
property. He claimed that as Mr. Ray was a servant of the company, and
in their employ, he had no right to acquire property outside of their
business; hence, the property belonged to the company. The books were
canceled, and left his estate in debt to the company, and his family
destitute. His widow was obliged to take in washing, which was given her
by some American officers then at that place. By this means she
supported herself and young family till she could obtain help from her
father, who had withdrawn from the company, and was then residing in
Oregon City.
This is as good an illustration of the Hudson's Bay Company's generosity
as can be given. They pursued Dr. McLaughlin and his children to the
death. Their influence and statements have led the American people to
mistake the doctor's unbounded generosity to them as wholly due to the
company, and changed the friendly feeling and rewards due to Dr.
McLaughlin for needed supplies in the hour of greatest peril to their
own account, at the same time holding the doctor's estate responsible
for every dollar, as they did Mr. Ray's.
As to Messrs. Shepard's and Olley's estates, they were both administered
by the Methodist Mission, or some one or more of its members. I have
never been able to learn the results, but have been informed that, as
they were members of the mission, the little property they had was
disposed of as per mission usage. In the case of Mr. Young, the settlers
found themselves somewhat interested. As to any Frenchman or Roman
Catholic, it was taken for granted, if he was not the servant of the
Hudson's Bay Company, his property went to the priest.
The settlers were united in the opinion that some understanding or laws
should be adopted to govern the settlement of estates, other than the
custom adopted by the Hudson's Bay Company or the missions; hence they
all turned out, and were completely defeated by the operations of the
Jesuit and Methodist missions. A resolution was ready, prepared for the
occasion:--
"_Resolved_, That a committee be chosen to form a constitution, and
draft a code of laws, and that the following persons compose that
committee: Rev. F. N. Blanchet, Rev. Jason Lee, Rev. Gustavus Hines,
Rev. Josiah L. Parish; Mr. D. Donpierre, Mr. M. Charlevo, Mr. Robert
Moore, Mr. E. Lucia, Mr. Wm. Johnson."
The committee first named in the resolution contained the names of the
three first-named clergymen. This was clerical law and constitution a
little too strong. It was then moved to put upon the committee some that
were not clergymen. The committee was finally made up of nine. Now comes
the test of all,--the governor. Revs. Leslie and Hines, and Drs. Babcock
and Bailey were prominent candidates. The prospects were that the three
Protestant missionary candidates would divide that influence so that Dr.
Bailey would be elected.
It will be borne in mind that Dr. Bailey was a man of strong English
prejudices, and opposed to religious societies and religion generally.
He could secure the French Catholic vote, and the majority of the
settlers. He was present at the meeting, with his Canadian, French, and
Hudson's Bay servant voters, all trained to vote for him for governor.
He nominated himself, and so disgusted the American settlers that they
joined in the effort to defeat him.
Mr. Hines was the prominent candidate to enter the field, and secure the
leading influence in the government. That office was the leading
question,--Bailey could not be trusted, and Hines could not be elected;
hence the office of governor was discarded, and the committee instructed
to prepare a constitution and laws, to be executed without an executive.
This was a shrewd and cunning device, to say the least of it, one
calculated to make the judicial and executive office one, in the same
person; which seemed by common consent to be Dr. I. L. Babcock, a man
equally as ambitious and aspiring as Dr. Bailey, but in good standing in
the mission, and a stranger to the settlers. This point gained, George
W. Le Breton, a young adventurer, who came to the country in the employ
of Captain Couch, on the brig _Maryland_, having a fair education, and
generally intelligent and agreeable in conversation, who had been
brought up in good society, and was inclined to, or educated in, the
Roman faith. This young man was elected to fill the offices of clerk of
the court and public recorder, as a compromise with the Jesuits. To
harmonize the English element, Wm. Johnson was elected high sheriff.
Zavia Ladaroot, Pierre Billique, and Wm. McCarty were chosen constables.
Messrs. Gervais, Cannon, Robert Moore, and Rev. L. H. Judson were chosen
justices of the peace. Here comes the climax of all wisdom:--
"It was then resolved, that, until a code of laws be drafted by the
Legislative Committee and adopted by the people, Ira L. Babcock, the
supreme judge, be instructed to act"--_just as he pleased_. Mr. Hines
says in his book, 419th page--"according to the laws of the State of New
York."
I query whether there was a single copy of the laws of that State in the
country for ten years after the last resolution was passed. I know there
was none at the time, and only a single copy of the laws of Iowa two
years after; hence, Ira L. Babcock was law-maker, judge, and executive
to the settlement, just as much so as John McLaughlin was to the
Hudson's Bay Company.
To keep up the farce (for the whole proceeding deserves no other name),
"it was then resolved to adjourn, to meet the first Thursday in June, at
the new building near the Roman Catholic church." The record proceeds:
"Thursday, June 11, 1841. The inhabitants of the Wallamet Valley met
according to adjournment, and the meeting was called to order by the
chairman, Rev. David Leslie. On motion, the doings of the former meeting
were read, on which the committee for drafting a constitution and code
of laws was called for, and information was communicated to the meeting
by the chairman of the committee, that, in consequence of his not having
called the committee together, no report had been prepared." _His
Jesuitical Reverence_, F. N. Blanchet, was excused from serving on the
committee, at his own request. The settlers and uninitiated were
informed by his reverence that he was unaccustomed to make laws for the
people, and did not understand how to proceed, while _divide and
conquer_, the policy adopted by the Hudson's Bay Company, was entered
into with heart and soul by this _Reverend Father_ Blanchet and his
associates. "On motion, it was then resolved, that a person be chosen to
fill the place thus vacated in the committee for drafting a constitution
and code of laws, and Dr. Wm. J. Bailey was chosen."
The motion that follows shows that the settlers were suspicious of
influences operating against them to deprive them of a voice in their
own government, for they then, "on motion, resolved that this committee
be instructed to meet for the transaction of their business on the first
Monday of August next." They further instructed this committee to report
at a subsequent meeting, "to be held the first Thursday in October next.
On motion, resolved, that the committee be advised to confer with the
commander of the American exploring squadron now in the Columbia River,
concerning the propriety of forming a provisional government in Oregon."
"_Resolved_, That the motion to adopt the report of the nominating
committee presented at a previous meeting be rescinded." Were the
settlers really in favor of an organization adapted to their wants, and
contrary to the wishes of the Hudson's Bay Company and clerical
government then existing? The above resolution shows the fact. They have
handsomely relieved the Jesuits of their responsibility, and left them
to work with their associates and co-laborers,--the Hudson's Bay Company
and Indians. They, to soften matters, allowed the committee to consider
the nature of the government about to be formed, and the officers
necessary, and--
"_Resolved_, That the committee to draft a constitution be instructed to
take into consideration the number and kind of officers it will be
necessary to create, in accordance with their constitution and code of
laws, and to report the same at the next meeting." It was also resolved
that the report of the nominating committee be referred to the
Legislative Committee.
Mr. Secretary Hines does not give us the names of the nominating
committee and the officers they first reported.
The meeting held at or near the Roman Catholic church on the 11th of
June was adjourned to meet at the Methodist Mission at eleven o'clock on
the first Thursday in October following. Duly signed, David Leslie,
chairman; Gustavus Hines, Sydney Smith, secretaries. The whole humbug
had been completed; the Methodist Mission party was safe; the Hudson's
Bay Company and Jesuits only wanted time to carry out their arrangements
and drive the whole concern from the country, or make a grand sacrifice
for the benefit of the Hudson's Bay Company's trade and mother church.
The idea of resisting the American influence was no new one; it was
announced as early as 1838. The combinations were ready to be made that,
at the proper time, every Hudson's Bay Company's man felt certain, would
accomplish the object they desired. They were ready and did invest their
money upon the issue. It is true other parties came in and formed
combinations that they supposed themselves capable of destroying by a
single word. They failed; and in 1865 we find them, the petitioners,
with a host of those they sought to rob, crying against their injustice.
They ask for compensation for attempting to prevent the rightful owners
of the country from occupying it. This is in keeping with their whole
course. Their impudence may carry them through and win their case, which
justice and truth should deny them.
Mr. Hines says, page 240: "I have previously stated that the origin of
the attempt to form a kind of provisional government was the removal by
death of the late Ewing Young, leaving, as he did, a large and unsettled
estate, with no one to administer it, and no law to control its
administration. The exigency of this case having been met by the
appointment of a judge with probate powers, who entered immediately upon
his duties" (giving no bonds to any body), "and disposed of the estate
of Ewing Young to the entire satisfaction of the community, and the fact
that some of the _most influential citizens_ of the country, and
especially some of the _Legislative Committee_, were adverse to the idea
of establishing a permanent organization so long as the peace and
harmony of the community could possibly be preserved without it, the
subject was permitted to die away and the committee for drafting a
constitution and code of laws did not meet according to their
instructions, nor did the meeting at which they were expected to report
ever take place."
Mr. Hines, in his account of this affair, is not quite satisfied himself
with the reasons he has given, so he goes on to state many facts as
connected with the arrival of the exploring squadron of the United
States, under command of Captain Wilkes, and says, page 421: "In
addition to this, the officers of the squadron were consulted on the
subject of organizing the country into a civil compact, and were found
to be decidedly opposed to the scheme, and recommended that the subject
be allowed to rest. They encouraged the people in the belief that the
United States government would probably soon extend jurisdiction over
the country."
To the disgrace of the leader of that squadron, the general impression
of all the early settlers of this country is, to the present day, that
he understood and tasted the qualities of Dr. McLaughlin's liquors, and
received the polite attentions of the gentlemen of the Hudson's Bay
Company with far more pleasure than he looked into or regarded the wants
of this infant settlement of his countrymen. Mr. Hines says "the
_officers_ of the squadron decidedly opposed the scheme." And why did
they do it? Simply because the parties named above were opposed. They
had absolute control of the persons and property of all in the country,
and they scrupled not to keep and use their power to the last.
The unconquerable energy of the Americans was this year manifested in
the building of a schooner, of about forty tons burden, on a little
island some four miles above the present city of Portland. R. L.
Kilborn, of the party of Ewing Young, Charley Matts, P. Armstrong, who
was afterward killed in the Indian war on Rogue River, H. Woods, John
Green, and George Davis engaged in this enterprise. They employed Felix
Hathaway, who was saved from the wreck of the _William and Ann_, as head
carpenter, and commenced their work. To obtain spikes and such irons as
were required, they had it reported that they were going to build a
ferry-boat to cross the Wallamet River. To obtain rigging, they induced
the French farmers to go to Fort Vancouver and get ropes to use in the
old Dutch harness for plowing, Dr. McLaughlin having informed them in
the start, that he did not approve of their scheme, and would furnish
them no supplies. They, however, were not to be deterred in their
undertaking. Procuring a whip-saw of the mission, and such tools as they
could spare, these men commenced their work; and when Captain Wilkes
visited them, and found they had a substantial and sea-worthy craft well
under way, he furnished them such articles from his stores as he could
spare, and spoke favorably of their enterprise to Dr. McLaughlin, who
became more liberal; so that, with the assistance of Captain Wilkes, the
mission, and such as they received from Dr. McLaughlin, the vessel was
launched and made trips to California, under the command of Captain
Joseph Gale, who returned to Oregon in 1843, and was elected one of our
Executive Committee, with David Hill and Alanson Beers.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Lee and Hines explore the Umpqua River.--Hines tells a
story.--Massacre and plunder of Smith's party by the
Indians.--Sympathy of the Hudson's Bay Company.--Extract from the
San Francisco _Bulletin_.
The reader is requested to note the statements that follow, as they show
influences operating that tell how active the enemies of the Protestant
missions had been. Mr. Hines admits that he owed his own and Mr. Lee's
life to the wife of Guinea. (See his journal, page 109.) He says:
"During the evening Mr. Guinea came to us considerably excited, and
warmly congratulated us on the safe guardianship his wife had exercised
over us in our absence. He said that in all probability we should have
been robbed of all we had, if we had not lost our lives, had it not been
for the faithfulness of his wife and her brother. He told us that one of
the chiefs of the clan we had visited was at the fort. Learning that we
designed to visit his people on the coast, _excited with the utmost
fear_, he hastened down the river and reported many evil things about
us, intending thereby to instigate the Indians to prevent us from going
among them."
Mr. Hines, can you vouch for the truth of this statement? I believe
sincerely you have told the truth, for you even attempt to excuse the
Indian for his fears, and have not the least suspicion of the sources
from which the Indian received his instruction and is made to believe
that you and Mr. Jason Lee had come with your _medicine bag_ to destroy
them. Let us hear Mr. Hines' excuse for the Indian's fears, in his own
words. He says: "Mr. Lee had brought a fowling-piece with him, and had
in his possession a patent shot-pouch. This was the thing that had
alarmed the chief. One story he told was, that we had brought _medicine
in a bag_ that Mr. Lee wore on his neck, for the purpose of killing them
all off; and that if we were permitted to come among them the fatal bag
would be opened and they would all be destroyed."
How did these Indians learn about the missionary medicine bag? Our good
friend, Guinea, Mr. Hines tells us, is from Montreal, and of a good
family,--a Frenchman. This trip, it seems, was made in 1840, about the
26th day of October. Dr. Whitman had not yet gone to the States, but the
medicine-bag story is tried with the Indians on the Umpqua. Guinea has
a little too much sense of moral responsibility to allow his Indians to
commence the slaughter of Lee and Hines, as Dr. White had come with them
and seen them safe at the fort, and had returned to the settlement. The
medicine man of the Methodist Mission had escaped, and it was not best
to commence on these preachers. Madam _Siwash_ Guinea must accompany
them, to watch and explain matters and protect them.
Mr. Hines says, page 100: "We had been informed by Mr. Guinea that there
would be _great danger_ in our going among them alone, and indeed he
appeared to stand in the utmost fear of them, of their hostility to the
whites, and especially to the _Americans_."
Can a reasonable man read this simple narrative with the light of
history, and facts piled on facts, with the stains of the blood of our
countrymen all over the country, and not trace the cause of these foul
murders to their true source? While none but American traders and
hunters were in the country, it was an easy matter to dispose of them,
but when the American missionary comes among the natives, another
element of opposition must be introduced; moral teachings must be met by
religious superstitions, to secure the victim, to advance the interests
of an unscrupulous trade. Let us take another statement from Mr. Hines
before we proceed with his political history. On page 106, in speaking
of the closing remarks of the chief at the mouth of the Umpqua, he tells
us, the chief "said he was very glad we had come to see them; that their
hearts toward us were like our hearts toward them; that he wanted us to
continue with them another day and tell them about God; that they had
heard about us, and had been told that we were a bad people." _Who told
these wild Indians this?_ Was it an American that had been living among
them and teaching them that his countrymen were a bad people? "That they
were glad to see us for themselves, and were convinced that what they
had heard was a lie; that they now believe us to be good, and that they
meant to be good also."
Mr. Hines tells a story, as he received it from the Hudson's Bay Company
gentlemen, to show that these Indians are very treacherous and not to be
relied upon, especially those on the coast. It relates to a company of
fur hunters composed of Smith, Sublet, and Jackson. At page 110 of his
book, he says: "In this division Smith was to take the country extending
from the Platte River by the way of Santa Fé to California; then turn
north along the Pacific Ocean as far as the Columbia River, and thence
back into the interior to join the other partners of the company. The
country was in the wildest state, but few white men having ever passed
through it. But, nothing daunted, Smith and his companions marched
through to California, and thence along the coast north as far as the
Umpqua River, collecting in their course all the valuable furs they
could procure, until they had loaded several pack animals with the
precious burden [forty packs of furs]. On arriving here, they encamped
on the borders of the river near the place where they intended to cross,
but, on examination, found it would be dangerous, if not impossible, to
effect the passage of the river at that place. Accordingly, Smith took
one of his men [he had two] and proceeded up the river on foot, for the
purpose of finding a better place to cross. In his absence, the Indians,
instigated by one of the savage-looking chiefs whom we saw at the mouth
of the river, rushed upon the party with their muskets [the same
furnished by the Hudson's Bay Company for that purpose], bows and
arrows, tomahawks, and scalping-knives, and commenced the work of
death." Just as they were expected to do with all intruders in this fur
traders' empire. "From the apparent kindness of the Indians previously,
the party had been thrown entirely off their guard, and consequently
were immediately overpowered by their ferocious enemies, and but one of
the twelve in camp escaped from the cruel massacre. Scarcely knowing
which way he fled, this one fell in with Smith, who was on his return to
the camp, and who received from the survivor the shocking account of the
murder of eleven of his comrades. Smith seeing all was lost, resolved
upon attempting nothing further than to do his best to secure his own
personal safety, with that of his surviving companions. The Indians had
secured all the furs, horses, mules, baggage, and every thing the
company had. The three immediately crossed the river and made the best
of their way through a savage and inhospitable country toward Vancouver,
where, after traveling between two and three hundred miles, and
suffering the greatest deprivations, they finally arrived in safety."
Rev. Mr. Hines' savage-looking chief was no less a personage than a
slave of a Frenchman by the name of Michel, or rather belonging to
Michel's Umpqua wife. This slave had learned, from the statements and
talk he had heard at Vancouver, that in case the Indians killed and
robbed the Boston men, there would be no harm to them; that neither the
Hudson's Bay Company nor the English or French would take any notice of
it. Hence, the Indians were taught to regard the killing of a Boston man
(American) as doing something that pleased the Hudson's Bay Company.
Under this instruction it is said this slave ran away from Vancouver,
and went back to his people, and was the cause of the massacre of
Smith's party. He is again present, doing all he can to induce his
people to rob and take the lives of Lee and Hines. Mr. Guinea, then in
charge of the fort, is aware of his instructions and his object. He
dare not tell Lee and Hines of their full danger, yet he knows all about
it.
They were determined to visit the Indians and see for themselves.
Guinea's Indian wife and her brother must go with them. This is
considered sufficient protection. The story of the Indian slave's part
in the massacre of Smith's party is related to us by Mrs. Smith, the
wife of S. H. Smith, an intelligent and much respected native woman, a
neighbor of ours for near twenty years, and by one of the men that
accompanied McKay to recover the property; corresponding exactly to
another event of the same kind that occurred in 1847, which will be
given in detail as stated by eye-witnesses under the solemnity of an
oath.
Mr. Hines, of course, believes the following statement, because the
_gentlemen_ of the company told it to him; just as I did the first time
I heard it from them. It is said, Smith and companions, "rehearsing the
story of their wonderful escape and subsequent sufferings to the members
of the Hudson's Bay Company, the utmost _sympathy_ was excited in their
behalf, and a strong party was fitted out to go and rescue the
_property_ from the savage robbers, and restore it to its surviving
owners. The vigor and perseverance of this party were equal to the
promptitude with which it was fitted out. They proceeded to the scene of
blood, and after committing the mangled bodies of Smith's murdered
companions to the grave, compelled the Indians to relinquish the
property they had taken," by giving them presents of blankets and
powder, and such things as the Indians wished, as stated to us by a
Frenchman, a servant of the company, who was one of McKay's party that
went to get the furs. They found no bodies to bury, and had no fight
with the Indians about the property, as stated by Mr. Smith also. But,
as the Hudson's Bay Company tells the story through Mr. Hines, they
"_spread terror through the tribes_." Was this the case in the Whitman
massacre in 1847? the Samilkamean massacre in 1857? the Frazer River
murder of American citizens in 1858? No: Governor Douglas told the
committee that asked him for protection, or for arms, to protect
themselves; that "_if they_ [the Americans] _molested her Majesty's
subjects he would send a force to punish them_." Mr. Hines says his
Umpqua party "_returned in triumph to Vancouver_." And well they might,
for they had made the best season's hunt they ever made, in getting
those furs and the property of Smith, which paid them well for the
expedition, as there was no market for Smith, except London, through the
hypocritical kindness of Mr. Simpson. By this time, Mr. Smith had
learned all he wished to of this company. He preferred giving them his
furs at their own price to being under any further obligations to them,
Mr. Sublet, Mr. Smith's partner, did not speak as though he felt under
much obligation to Mr. Simpson or the Hudson's Bay Company in 1836,
which was not long after the transaction referred to.
I do not know how the company regard these statements of Mr. Hines, yet
I regard them as true so far as Mr. Hines is concerned, but utterly
false as regards the company. As old Toupin says Mr. Parker told the
Indians, "It is their fashion" of taking credit to themselves for doing
all they could against the Americans occupying the country in any way.
According to the testimony given in the case of The Hudson's Bay Company
_v._ United States, the amount of furs seized by the company at that
time was forty packs, worth at the time $1,000 each, besides the animals
and equipments belonging to the party, a large portion of which was
given to the Indians, to compensate them for their services rendered to
the company, in destroying Smith's expedition and killing his men,
corresponding with transactions of recent date, as stated in an article
found in the San Francisco _Bulletin_:--
"HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY AND THE INDIANS.--A gentleman from Victoria
gives us the following facts concerning the Indian outrages on the
northern coast, and their allies, the Hudson's Bay Company: Captain
D. Warren said to M. A. Foster and William McCurdy, that, on
returning to Victoria and reporting the circumstances of the attack
of the Indians upon his sloop, _Thornton_, to the first lieutenant
of the ship _Zealous_, he was the next day arrested and put under
$2,000 bonds. The _Sparrowhawk_ was to leave last Wednesday, but had
not yet gone to inquire into the matter. It is known that the same
Indians murdered Captain Jack Knight and partner but a short time
before. The same crowd or band of Indians robbed the _Nanaimo_
packet. Since thus attacked, Captain Warren, the captain of the
_Ocean Queen_, informed them that a friendly Indian chief told him
to leave; the Indians were hostile; they were preparing for war with
the neighboring tribes.
"From a statement found in the _Chronicle_, of the 27th of June, we
learn that Captain Mowatt, of the Hudson's Bay Company, is in charge
of Fort Rupert. We also learn that Captain Mowatt's prejudices and
feelings are peculiarly hostile to all American fur traders, and not
any too friendly to those claiming to be English. The facts indicate
a strong Hudson's Bay Company Indian war influence against American
or other traders in behalf of that company. It is evident from the
statement of the two gentlemen above named that her Majesty's naval
officers are inclined, and more than probably instructed, to protect
the Hudson's Bay Company's people in encouraging the Indian
hostility and murder of all outside venturers upon their trading
localities, as they are prompt to insinuate and affirm that the
whites are the aggressors, and to arrest them for punishment."
It is difficult to understand why our American government is so tolerant
and generous to a foreign monopoly that has invariably sought and
accomplished the destruction of its fur trade on its western borders,
and used its entire influence against American institutions and
citizens; not hesitating to incite the Indians to the most inhuman and
brutal murders.
CHAPTER XXIX.
Missionaries leaving.--Hudson's Bay Company's Gold
Exchange.--Population in 1842.--Whitman and Lovejoy start for the
States.--The Red River emigration.--American merchants.--Settlers
not dependent on the Hudson's Bay Company.--Milling Company.--The
Oregon Institute.--Dr. Elijah White.--Proceedings and resolutions
of a public meeting at Wallamet.--Correspondence with the War
Department.
Rev. A. B. Smith and wife, Cornelius Rogers, and W. H. Gray and wife had
left the mission of the American Board, on account of difficulties they
had become fully satisfied would ultimately destroy the mission or drive
it from the country. Mr. Spalding, it will be remembered, was a man of
peculiar temperament, ambitious and selfish. He could not endure an
associate of superior talent, or admit himself to be inferior in
understanding the native language. From the time the Jesuits arrived (in
1838), some of his own pet Indians had turned Catholics and commenced a
quarrel with him. These facts seemed to annoy and lead him to adopt a
course opposed by Smith, Gray, and Rogers. Still he found it pleased the
Indians as a whole, and was assented to by the balance of the mission.
Smith and wife left for the Sandwich Islands; Rogers for the Wallamet in
1841; Gray and wife in 1842.
During the exploration of the country by Commodore Wilkes' exploring
squadron, Mr. Cornelius Rogers was found a very useful man. His
knowledge of Indian languages (which he was remarkably quick to acquire)
and of Indian character generally enabled him to become a reliable and
useful interpreter. The officers soon became aware of the fact, and
employed him at once to assist and interpret for them. He was paid for
his services in gold coin, which amounted to something over five hundred
dollars. Not wishing to carry his coin about, he offered to deposit it
with the Hudson's Bay Company. "Certainly, Mr. Rogers, we will receive
your coin, and credit you upon our books twenty per cent. less, as the
coin is not so valuable to us as our goods, at beaver prices." Mr. R.
allowed them to take his coin and credit him with four hundred dollars
in beaver currency. In a short time a party of the squadron were to go
by land to California. Mr. R. concluded he would go with them, and that
his coin would be more convenient than beaver orders on the company. He
therefore requested them to return to him the coin. "Certainly, Mr.
Rogers," and handed him back four hundred dollars less twenty per
cent.,--three hundred and twenty dollars. "How is this?" says Mr. R.; "I
supposed from the statement you made on depositing this money with you,
that that money was a drug to you, and now you wish me to pay you twenty
per cent. for money I have left in your care, after deducting twenty per
cent. for leaving it with you. You may consider this a fair and an
honorable transaction; I do not." He was told, "_Such is our manner of
doing business_," and that was all the satisfaction he could get. He
finally left his money and drew his goods, at what was called beaver
prices, of the company.
Nothing further of note occurred in 1841, except the loss of the
_Peacock_, in which no lives were lost, and the extra efforts of the
company to show to the officers of the expedition their good deeds and
kind treatment to all Americans, and to prove to them that the whole
country was of little value to any one. "It would scarcely support the
few Indians, much less a large population of settlers."
1842.--Our population, all told, in the beginning of this year, is
twenty-one Protestant ministers, three Roman or Jesuit priests, fifteen
lay members of churches, thirty-four white women, thirty-two white
children, and thirty-five American settlers--twenty-five of them with
native wives. Total, one hundred and thirty-seven Americans. At the
close of the year we had an emigration from the States of one hundred
and eleven persons,--some forty-two families,--with two lawyers, A. L.
Lovejoy and A. M. Hastings. The latter became the lawyer of Dr.
McLaughlin and relieved the settlement in the spring of 1843 of a number
of not very valuable settlers, by assisting them to get credit of the
Hudson's Bay Company in procuring their outfits, giving their notes,
payable in California; white settlers who remained could get no credit
or supplies of the company, especially such as had asked protection of
the American government. A. L. Lovejoy started from Whitman's station to
return to the States with Dr. Whitman. He reached Bent's Fort with him,
but stopped for the winter, while Whitman proceeded on to Washington in
time to save the country from being given up to British rule. For an
account of that trip, which we give in another chapter, we are indebted
to the Honorable A. L. Lovejoy.
The Red River emigration, consisting of some forty families of English,
Scotch, and Canadian-French half-breeds, had been ordered from the Red
River, or Selkirk settlement, to locate in the Puget Sound district, by
the Hudson's Bay Company's governor, Simpson. This company started
across the plains with most of their property and families in carts, in
the spring of 1842, directed, protected, and guided by the company, and
expected to become settlers, subject to it, in Puget Sound. This was in
fact a part of the original plan of the Puget Sound Agricultural
Company, and these families were brought on to aid in securing and
holding the country for the British government and the use of the
company,--a plan and arrangement exactly similar to that adopted by the
Hudson's Bay Company in 1811-12, to cut off the trade of the French
Northwest Fur Company, by establishing the Selkirk settlement directly
in the line of their trade.
This Red River colony was a part of the company's scheme to control and
outnumber the American settlement of Oregon; it being connected with the
Puget Sound concern, and under the control of the Hudson's Bay
Company,--which, by the decision of the commissioners, has won the
company $200,000 from our national treasury. A more infamous claim could
not well be trumped up, and the men who awarded it should be held
responsible, and handed down to posterity as unjust rewarders of
unscrupulous monopolies. Not for this alone, but for paying to the
parent monopoly the sum of $450,000, for their malicious
misrepresentations of the country, their murders, and their perjury
respecting their claims to it.
As soon as the Red River colony reached the country, they found that the
Hudson's Bay Company on the west side of the Rocky Mountains was a
different institution from that of the Selkirk settlement; consequently
a large number of the more intelligent among them refused to remain in
the Puget Sound district, and found their way into the Wallamet and
Tualatin districts, and were received and treated as Oregonians, or
citizens of the provisional government. This had the effect to embitter
the feelings of the ruling spirits of the company, and caused them to
change their policy. They commenced fortifying Fort Vancouver, and had a
war-ship, the _Modeste_, stationed in the Columbia River, while the fort
was being prepared for defensive or offensive measures. This only
increased the anxiety and hastened the effort to organize for
self-defense on the part of the American settlers.
In the mean time, Hon. Caleb Cushing, of Newburyport, Massachusetts, had
sent to the country a ship with supplies. A. E. Wilson had established
himself, or was about to, at Wallamet Falls as a trader, and some
families were on their way by water from the States,--F. W. Pettygrove,
Peter Foster, and Peter H. Hatch. Pettygrove arrived with a small stock
of goods. The same ship brought a supply for the Methodist Mission.
The settlers were not dependent upon the Hudson's Bay Company for
supplies as much as has been asserted. I am certain that many of them
never received a dollar's worth of the company's goods, except it might
have been through the stores of Pettygrove, Wilson, or Abernethy. I
know many of them were willing and did pay higher prices to their
American merchants than they could get the same article for from the
company's store, which was about this time established at Oregon City.
Soon after, a trading-post and warehouse were established at Champoeg,
and Mr. Roberts sent up with orders to _kick, change, and beat the
half-bushel with a club_ in order to get more wheat at sixty cents per
imperial bushel in payment for all debts due the company for the goods
furnished to them at one hundred per cent. or more on London prices.
During this year the Wallamet Milling Company was formed, and commenced
to build a saw-mill on the island above the falls. Dr. McLaughlin also
commenced active opposition to American enterprise.
The Oregon Institute was commenced this year, under the direction of the
Methodist missionaries. They carefully guarded against all outside
patronage or influence getting control of their institution, by
requiring a certain number of trustees to be members of their church in
good standing. It was during the discussions in the organizing of that
institution that the disposition on the part of that mission to control
not only the religious, but literary and political interests of the
settlement, was manifested. The leading members took strong ground, yet
hesitated when it was found they would be compelled to ask for outside
patronage. However, they were able to commence operations with the
Institute, and succeeded in getting up a building deemed suitable by the
building committee.
Dr. Elijah White returned to the country, as he supposed and frequently
asserted, with unlimited discretionary powers from the President of the
United States to arrange all matters between the Hudson's Bay Company,
Indians, and settlers, and "although his commission did not specify in
so many words, yet, in short, he was the governing power of the United
States west of the Rocky Mountains." He entered at once upon the duties
of his office, and such a muss as he kicked up all over the country it
would require the pens of a Squibob and a Junius combined to describe.
Rev. Mr. Hines has given to the world many useful notices of this
notorious blockhead, and from his descriptions of his proceedings one
would infer that he was a most important character in promoting the
peace and harmony of the settlement and keeping the Indians quiet. I
have always been at a loss to understand Mr. Hines, whether he is
speaking of Dr. White's proceedings in sober earnest or serious
burlesque. Either he was woefully ignorant of the character of Dr.
White, or he was cajoled and flattered and made to believe the doctor
possessed power and influence at Washington that no document he could
show gave any evidence of. Be that as it may, Dr. White arrived in the
fall of 1842, in advance of the emigration. He pretended to have all
power necessary for all cases, civil and criminal. He appointed
temporary magistrates to try all cases as they might occur; and such as
related to Indians and whites, or half-breeds and whites, he tried
himself, and gave decisions to suit his own ideas of justice. Usually,
in the case of two settlers, where he had appointed a justice to try the
case, he would argue the case for one of the parties, and generally win
it for his client or favorite. We attended two of the doctor's trials,
one in Tualatin Plains, the other at the saw-mill near Salem. In both of
these cases the conclusion of those not interested was, that if such was
the justice to which we as settlers were reduced, our own energy and
arms must protect us.
At the meeting called to receive him, a committee, being appointed,
retired, and, after a short absence, reported the following
resolutions:--
_Resolved_, That we, the citizens of the Wallamet Valley, are
exceedingly happy in the consideration that the government of the United
States have manifested their intentions through their agent, Dr. E.
White, of extending their jurisdiction and protection over this country.
_Resolved_, That, in view of the claims which the aborigines of this
country have upon the sympathies of the white man, we are gratified at
the appointment of an agent by the United States government to regulate
and guard their interests.
_Resolved_, That we highly approve of the appointment of Dr. E. White to
the above office, and that we will cordially co-operate with him in
carrying out the measures of government in reference to this country.
_Resolved_, That we feel grateful to the United States government for
their intended liberality toward the settlers of this country, and for
their intention to support education and literature among us.
_Resolved_, That it will give us the highest pleasure to be brought, so
soon as it maybe practicable, under the jurisdiction of our mother
country.
On motion, it was
_Resolved_, That the report of the committee be adopted.
_Resolved unanimously_, That the doings of this meeting be transmitted
to the government of the United States by Dr. E. White, in order that
our views and wishes in relation to this country may be known.
The following communication shows the shrewdness of Dr. White, and the
influence he was enabled to hold over Mr. Hines, who seems to have
ignored all the doctor's conduct while a missionary, and considers him a
suitable person to deal with the complicated relations then culminating
on our western coast. It is given entire, to place Mr. Hines in his
true character in the history of the country, though Dr. White does not
deign to mention his name in his report to the department. We also give
an extract from the report of the Commissioners of Indian Affairs,
November 28, 1843, as found on fifth and sixth pages of Dr. White's
report, Mr. Hines' letter is as follows:--
WALLAMET, April 3, 1843.
_To the Honorable Secretary of War:_
SIR,--I have the honor of addressing you a brief communication
expressive of my views of the course pursued by Dr. E. White,
sub-agent of Indian Affairs west of the Rocky Mountains.
I am not extensively acquainted with what properly belongs to the
business of an Indian agent, but so far as I understand the
subject, this agency requires the performance of duties which are
of an _onerous_ and _complicated_ character.
The country is quite extensive, and an intercourse is carried on
between the whites and Indians in almost every part of it. The
principal settlements are on the Wallamet River and Taulatin
Plains, but there are whites at the mouth of the Columbia River,
the Falls, and among the Wallawalla, Cayuse, Nez Percé, and Snake
Indians. Immediately after the arrival of your agent in this
country, he received the most urgent calls from several of these
places, if possible to come immediately and enter into such
measures as would secure both the safety of the whites and welfare
of the Indians.
He entered upon his business with diffidence, though with great
energy and decision, and his indefatigable efforts to promote the
interests of this country, with his untiring industry in the
performance of his duties, entitle him to the warmest respect of
the members of this infant and helpless colony, and to the
confidence of the honorable department which has committed to him
so important a trust. Although he has been with us but a short time
in his official capacity, yet it is generally believed that the
measures he has adopted to regulate the intercourse between the
whites and Indians, particularly in the Cayuse, Nez Percé, and
Wallawalla tribes, are wisely calculated to secure the protection
of the former against the aggressions of the savages, and to secure
to the latter the blessings of harmony, peace, and civilization.
Some time in November last news reached us from these formidable
tribes that they were laying a plot for the destruction of this
colony, upon which your agent, with characteristic decision,
determined to proceed at once to the scene of this conspiracy, and,
if possible, not only to frustrate the present designs of the
Indians, but to prevent any future attempts of the same character.
This laborious journey was undertaken, and, accordingly, he set out
on this perilous enterprise in the dead of winter, being
accompanied by six men, and though the distance to be traveled by
land and water was little less than one thousand miles, and the
whole journey was one of excessive labor and much suffering, yet
perseverance surmounted every difficulty, and the undertaking was
brought to a most happy issue. In the fitting out and execution of
such an expedition much expense must necessarily be incurred, but I
am fully of the opinion the funds appropriated by your agent, for
the purpose of accomplishing the object of his appointment, have
been judiciously applied.
Not knowing the views I entertained in reference to the propriety
of his course, Dr. White requested me to write to the honorable
Secretary of War, definitely expressing my opinion. Considering
this a sufficient apology for intruding myself upon your patience
in this communication, allow me, dear sir, to subscribe myself most
respectfully.
Your humble servant,
GUSTAVUS HINES,
Missionary to the Wallamet Settlement.
DEPARTMENT OF WAR,}
OFFICE OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, Nov. 23, 1843.}
I submit a report from the sub-agent west of the Rocky Mountains,
received on the 9th of August last. It furnishes some
deeply-interesting and curious details respecting certain of the
Indian tribes in that remote part of our Territories. The Nez
Percés are represented to be "more noble, industrious, sensible,
and better disposed toward the whites," than the others. Their
conduct on the occasion of an important meeting between Dr. White
and their leading men impresses one most agreeably. The school
established for their benefit is very numerously attended, while it
is gratifying to learn that this is not the only establishment for
Indian instruction which has been made and conducted with success.
There will also be found in this paper some particulars as to the
soil, water-courses, etc, of the Territory of Oregon, which may be
interesting at this time, when public attention is so much directed
to the region beyond the Rocky Mountains.
Respectfully submitted,
T. HARTLEY CRAWFORD.
Hon. J. M. PORTER, Secretary of War.
CHAPTER XXX.
Dispatch of Dr. White to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.--He
praises the Hudson's Bay Company.--His account of the
Indians.--Indian outrages.--Dr. White's expedition to the Nez
Percés.--Indian council.--Speeches.--Electing a chief.--Laws of the
Nez Percés.--Visit to the Cayuses.--Doings of the
missionaries.--Drowning of Mr. Rogers and family.--George
Geere.--Volcanoes.--Petition against Governor McLaughlin.
OREGON, April 1, 1843.
SIR,--On my arrival, I had the honor and happiness of addressing you a
brief communication, giving information of my safe arrival, and that of
our numerous party, to these distant shores.
At that time it was confidently expected that a more direct, certain,
and expeditious method would be presented to address you in a few weeks;
but that failing, none has offered till now.
I think I mentioned the kind and hospitable manner we were received and
entertained on the way by the gentlemen of the Hudson's Bay Company, and
the cordial and most handsome reception I met with at Fort Vancouver
from Governor McLaughlin and his worthy associate chief factor, James
Douglas, Esq.; my appointment giving pleasure rather than pain,--a
satisfactory assurance that these worthy gentlemen intend eventually to
settle in this country, and prefer American to English jurisdiction.
On my arrival in the colony, sixty miles south of Vancouver, being in
advance of the party, and coming unexpectedly to the citizens, bearing
the intelligence of the arrival of so large a re-enforcement, and giving
assurance of the good intentions of our government, the excitement was
general, and two days after we had the largest and happiest public
meeting ever convened in this infant colony.
I found the colony in peace and health, and rapidly increasing in
numbers, having more than doubled in population during the last two
years. English, French, and half-breeds seem, equally with our own
people, attached to the American cause; hence the bill of Mr. Linn,
proffering a section of land to every white man of the Territory, has
the double advantage of being popular and useful, increasing such
attachment, and manifestly acting as a strong incentive to all, of
whatever nation or party, to settle in this country.
My arrival was in good time, and probably saved much evil. I had but a
short season of rest after so long, tedious, and toilsome a journey,
before information reached me of the very improper conduct of the upper
country Indians toward the missionaries sent by the American Board of
Commissioners, accompanied with a passport, and a desire for my
interposition in their behalf at once.
I allude to the only three tribes from which much is to be hoped, or any
thing to be feared, in this part of Oregon. These are the Wallawallas,
Cayuses, and Nez Percés, inhabiting a district of country on the
Columbia and its tributaries, commencing two hundred and forty miles
from its mouth, and stretching four hundred and eighty miles into the
interior. The Wallawallas, most contiguous to the colony, number some
three thousand, including the entire population. They are in general
poor, indolent, and sordid, but avaricious; and what few have property,
in horses and herds, are proud, haughty, and insolent. The Cayuses, next
easterly, are less numerous, but more formidable, being brave, active,
tempestuous, and warlike. Their country is well watered, gently
undulating, extremely healthy, and admirably adapted to grazing, as Dr.
Marcus Whitman, who resides in their midst, may have informed you. They
are comparatively rich in herds, independent in manner, and not
unfrequently boisterous, saucy, and troublesome in language and
behavior. The Nez Percés, still further in the interior, number
something less than three thousand; they inhabit a beautiful grazing
district not surpassed by any I have seen for verdure, water privileges,
climate, or health. The tribe forms, to some extent, an honorable
exception to the general Indian character, being more noble,
industrious, sensible, and better disposed toward the whites and their
improvements in the arts and sciences; and, though as brave as Cæsar,
the whites have nothing to dread at their hands, in case of their
dealing out to them what they conceive to be right and equitable. Of
late, these three tribes have become strongly united by reason of much
intermarriage. For the last twenty years they have been generally well
disposed toward the whites; but at the time Captain Bonneville visited
this district of country, he dealt more profusely in presents and paid a
higher price for furs than Mr. Pambrun, one of the traders of the
Hudson's Bay Company, established at Wallawalla, who had long dealt with
them, and was previously a general favorite. On Mr. Bonneville's
leaving, the chiefs assembled at the fort, and insisted on a change of
the tariff in their favor. Pambrun refusing, they seized him, stamped
violently upon his breast, beat him severely, and retained him prisoner,
in rather unenviable circumstances, till they gained, to a considerable
extent, their object. Since that time, they have been more consequential
in feeling, and shown less deference and respect to the whites. On the
arrival of missionaries among them they have never failed to make, at
first, a most favorable impression, which has, in most instances,
unfortunately, led to too near an approach to familiarity, operating
alike prejudicial to both parties. The Rev. Messrs. Lee and Parker, who
made each but a short stay among them, left with like favorable
impressions. Their successors, Spalding, Whitman, Gray, and ladies, with
others who remained among them, were at last driven to the conclusion
that Indians as much resembled each other in character as complexion.
These worthy people, not well versed in Indian character, and anxious to
accomplish a great deal in a short time, resorted to various expedients
to induce them to leave off their wandering migratory habits, and settle
down contiguous to them in herding and agricultural pursuits, so as to
be able to send their numerous and healthy children to school. In these
efforts they were zealous and persevering, holding out various
inducements as so many stimulants to action, most of which would have
operated well in civilized life, but generally failed with these
Indians; and whatever was promised conditionally, whether the condition
was met or otherwise, there was no reprieve--the promised articles must
come; and sometimes, under circumstances sufficiently trying, had these
missionaries been less devoted, they would have driven them from their
post forever.
The Indians, having gained one and another victory, became more and more
insolent, till at last, some time previous to my arrival, they were not
only obtrusive and exceedingly annoying about and in the missionaries'
houses, but seized one of the clergymen in his own house,[2] without a
shadow of provocation, further than that of treating a better
neighboring chief with more respect than they, and insulted him most
shamefully, there being no other white person within fifty miles, save
his sick and delicate lady. Soon after, they commenced on Dr. Whitman;
pulled his ears and hair, and threw off his hat three times in the mud
at his feet. A short time after, the chiefs assembled, broke into the
house, violently assailed his person with war clubs, and, with an ax,
broke down the door leading to his own private apartment. It is
generally thought, and possibly with truth, that, on this occasion, Dr.
Whitman would have been killed, had not a party of white men arrived in
sight just at this moment.[3] Never was such an outrage and insult more
undeserving. He had built, for the express purpose of Indian
accommodation, a house of the same materials, and finished in like
manner with his own, of respectable size, and joined to his, and at all
times, night and day, accessible. In addition to this, they were
admitted to every room in his house but one. This being closed, had like
to have cost him his life. He had hardly left for the States last fall,
when, shocking to relate, at the hour of midnight, a large Indian chief
managed to get into the house, came to the door of Mrs. Whitman's
bed-chamber, and had succeeded in getting it partly open before she
reached it. A white man, sleeping in an adjoining apartment, saved her
from violence and ruin. The villain escaped. There was but one thing
wrong in this matter on the part of Dr. Whitman, and that was a great
error,--leaving his excellent lady unprotected in the midst of
savages.[4] A few days after this they burned down the mission mill on
his premises, with all its appendages and considerable grain, damaging
them not less than twelve or fifteen hundred dollars. About the same
time, Mrs. Spalding was grossly insulted in her own house, and ordered
out of it, in the absence of her husband. Information reached him of an
Indian having stolen his horse near the same time; he hastened to the
spot to secure the animal; the rogue had crossed the river; but,
immediately returning, he presented his loaded gun, cocked, at the
breast of Mr. Spalding, and abused and menaced as far as possible
without shooting him.[5]
[Footnote 2] Rev. A. B. Smith, who employed the Lawyer as his
teacher in the Nez Percé language. Ellis was the chief who
claimed the land, and had been at the Red River school. He
was jealous of the Lawyer's influence with the American
missionaries, and used his influence with the Hudson's Bay
Company to drive Mr. Smith away.
[Footnote 3] We were present at Dr. Whitman's at the time
here referred to, and know that this difficulty originated
from Jesuitical teachings.
[Footnote 4] There were good men left at the station;
besides, the influence of Mr. McKinley was thought to be
sufficient protection from any violence from the Indians.
[Footnote 5] This transaction is represented by Rev. Mr.
Brouillet as being that Mr. Spalding threatened the Indian
with a gun,--being a mistake on the part of Rev. Mr.
Brouillet.
In addition to this, some of our own party were robbed openly of
considerable property, and some twelve horses were stolen by night. All
this information, coming near the same time, was embarrassing,
especially as my instructions would not allow me to exceed, for office,
interpreter, and every purpose, $1,250 per annum. On the other hand,
their passport, signed by the Secretary of War, made it my imperative
duty to protect them, in their persons, at least, from outrage. I did
not long hesitate, but called upon Thomas McKay, long in the employment
of the Hudson's Bay Company as explorer and leader of parties, who, from
his frank, generous disposition, together with his universal success in
Indian warfare, has obtained an extensive influence among the aborigines
of the country, and, placing the facts before him, he at once consented
to accompany me to this scene of discord and contention. We took but six
men with us, armed in the best manner, a sufficient number to command
respect and secure the object of our undertaking,--McKay assuring me,
from his familiar acquaintance with these Indians, and their thorough
knowledge of the use of arms, that if hostile intentions were
entertained, it would require a larger party than we could raise in this
country to subdue them. Obtaining Cornelius Rogers as interpreter, we
set out on the 15th of November on our voyage of misery (as McKay justly
denominated it), having a journey, by water and land, of not less than
nine hundred and fifty miles, principally over open plains, covered with
snow, and several times under the necessity of spending the night
without wood or fire, other than what was made by a small growth of wild
sage, hardly sufficient to boil the tea-kettle. The gentlemen, as we
called at Vancouver, did every thing in their power to make the journey
comfortable, but evidently felt anxious concerning our safety. We
reached the Dalles, some two hundred and twenty miles from the Pacific,
on the 24th, having been detained by wind, spent several days with the
Methodist Mission families, who welcomed us joyfully, and made our stay
agreeable and refreshing. Mrs. Dr. Whitman was here, having found it
improper and unsafe to remain where she had been so lately grossly
insulted. Her noble and intellectual mind and spirit were much
depressed, and her health suffering; but still entertaining for the
people or Indians of her charge the feelings of a mother toward
ungrateful children. Our visit encouraged her. We procured horses and
traveled by land to Wallawalla, 140 miles above, reaching the Hudson's
Bay establishment on the 30th. Mr. McKinley, the gentleman in charge, to
whom the missionaries are indebted for many kind offices in this
isolated portion of earth, resolved to make it a common cause, and stand
or fall with us. We reached Wailatpu, the station of Dr. Whitman, the
day following, and were shocked and pained at beholding the sad work of
savage destruction upon this hitherto neat and commodious little
establishment. The Indians in the vicinity were few and shy. I thought
best to treat them with reserve, but made an appointment to meet the
chiefs and tribe on my return. Left the day following for the station of
Mr. Spalding among the Nez Percés, some 120 or 130 miles from Wailatpu;
reached it on the 3d of December, after a rather pleasant journey over a
most verdant and delightful grazing district, well watered, but badly
timbered. Having sent a private dispatch in advance, they had conveyed
the intelligence to the Indians, many of whom were collected. The chiefs
met us with civility, gravity, and dignified reserve, but the
missionaries with joyful countenances and glad hearts.
Seldom was a visit of an Indian agent more desired, nor could one be
more necessary and proper. As they were collecting, we had no meeting
for eight and forty hours; in the mean time, through my able
interpreter and McKay, I managed to secure confidence and prepare the
way to a good understanding; visited and prescribed for their sick, made
a short call at each of the chiefs' lodges, spent a season in school,
hearing them read, spell, and sing; at the same time examined their
printing and writing, and can hardly avoid here saying I was happily
surprised and greatly interested at seeing such numbers so far advanced
and so eagerly pursuing after knowledge. The next day I visited their
little plantations, rude, to be sure, but successfully carried on, so
far as raising the necessaries of life were concerned; and it was most
gratifying to witness their fondness and care for their little herds,
pigs, poultry, etc.
The hour arriving for the public interview, I was ushered into the
presence of the assembled chiefs, to the number of twenty-two, with some
lesser dignitaries, and a large number of the common people. The
gravity, fixed attention, and decorum of these sons of the forest was
calculated to make for them a most favorable impression. I stated
explicitly, but briefly as possible, the design of our great chief in
sending me to this country, and the present object of my visit; assured
them of the kind intentions of our government, and of the sad
consequences that would ensue to any white man, from this time, who
should invade their rights, by stealing, murder, selling them damaged
for good articles, or alcohol, of which they are not fond. Without
threatening, I gave them to understand how highly Mr. and Mrs. Spalding
were prized by the numerous whites, and with what pleasure the great
chief gave them a paper to encourage them to come here to teach them
what they were now so diligently employed in obtaining, in order that
they and their children might become good, wise, and happy.
After me, Mr. McKinley, the gentleman in charge of the Hudson's Bay
establishment at Wallawalla, spoke concisely, but very properly; alluded
to his residence of some years, and of the good understanding that had
generally existed between them, and of the happiness he felt that one of
his brothers had come to stand and judge impartially between him, them,
and whites and Indians in general; declared openly and frankly, that
Boston, King George, and French, were all of one heart in this matter,
as they, the Cayuses and Wallawallas should be; flattered them
delicately in view of their (to him) unexpected advancement in the arts
and sciences, and resumed his seat, having made a most favorable
impression.
Next followed Mr. Rogers, the interpreter, who, years before, had been
employed successfully as linguist in this section of the country by the
American Board of Commissioners, and was ever a general favorite with
this people. He adverted, sensibly and touchingly, to past difficulties
between whites and Indians east of the mountains, and the sad
consequences to every tribe who had resisted honorable measures proposed
by the more numerous whites; and having, as he hoped, secured their
confidence in my favor, exhorted them feelingly to adopt such measures
as should be thought proper for their benefit.
Next, and lastly, arose Mr. McKay, and remarked, with a manner peculiar
to himself, and evidently with some emotion: "I appear among you as one
arisen from the long sleep of death. You know of the violent death of my
father on board the ship _Tonquin_, who was one of the partners of the
Astor company; I was but a youth; since which time, till the last five
years, I have been a wanderer through these wilds, none of you, or any
Indians of this country, having traveled so constantly or extensively as
I have, and yet I saw you or your fathers once or more annually. I have
mingled with you in bloody wars and profound peace; I have stood in your
midst, surrounded by plenty, and suffered with you in seasons of
scarcity; we have had our days of wild and joyous sports, and nights of
watching and deep concern, till I vanished from among men, left the
Hudson's Bay Company, silently retired to my plantation, and there
confined myself. There I was still, silent, and as one dead; the voice
of my brother, at last, aroused me; I spoke and looked; I mounted my
horse--am here. I am glad it is so. I came at the call of the great
chief, the chief of all the whites in the country, as well as all the
Indians--the son of the mighty chief whose children are more numerous
than the stars in the heavens or the leaves in the forest. Will you
hear, and be advised? You will. Your wonderful improvement in the arts
and sciences prove you are no fools. Surely you will hear; but if
disposed to close your ears and stop them, they will be torn open wide,
and you will be made to hear." This speech from Mr. McKay, whose mother
is part Indian, though the wife of Governor McLaughlin, had a singularly
happy influence, and opened the way for expressions on the other side,
from which there had not hitherto been a sentence uttered.
First arose Five Crows, a wealthy chief of forty-five, neatly attired in
English costume. He stepped gravely but modestly forward to the table,
remarking: "It does not become me to speak first; I am but a youth, as
yet, when compared with many of these, my fathers; but my feelings urge
me to arise and say what I am about to utter in a very few words. I am
glad the chief has come; I have listened to what has been said; have
great hopes that brighter days are before us, because I see all the
whites united in this matter; we have much wanted something; hardly
knew what; been groping and feeling for it in confusion and darkness.
Here it is. Do we see it, and shall we accept it?"
Soon the Bloody Chief (not less than ninety years old) arose, and said:
"I speak to-day; perhaps to-morrow I die. I am the oldest chief of the
tribe; was the high chief when your great brothers, Lewis and Clarke,
visited this country; they visited me, and honored me with their
friendship and counsel. I showed them my numerous wounds received in
bloody battle with the Snakes; they told me it was not good, it was
better to be at peace; gave me a flag of truce; I held it up high; we
met and talked, but never fought again. Clarke pointed to this day, to
you, and this occasion; we have long waited in expectation; sent three
of our sons to Red River school to prepare for it; two of them sleep
with their fathers; the other is here, and can be ears, mouth, and pen
for us. I can say no more; I am quickly tired; my voice and limbs
tremble. I am glad I live to see you and this day, but I shall soon be
still and quiet in death."
The speech was affecting. Six more spoke, and the meeting adjourned
three hours. Met at the hour appointed. All the chiefs and principal men
being present, stated delicately the embarrassed relation existing
between whites and Indians in this upper country, by reason of a want of
proper organization, or the chiefs' authority not being properly
regarded; alluding to some cases of improprieties of young men, not
sanctioned by the chiefs and old men; and where the chiefs had been in
the wrong, hoped it had principally arisen from imperfectly
understanding each other's language, or some other excusable cause,
especially so far as they were concerned. Advised them, as they were now
to some extent prepared, to choose one high chief of the tribe, and
acknowledge him as such by universal consent; all the other subordinate
chiefs being of equal power, and so many helps to carry out all his
lawful requirements, which they were at once to have in writing, in
their own language, to regulate their intercourse with whites, and, in
most cases, with themselves. I advised that each chief have five men as
a body-guard, to execute all their lawful commands. They desired to hear
the laws. I proposed them clause by clause, leaving them as free to
reject as to accept. They were greatly pleased with all proposed, but
wished a heavier penalty to some, and suggested the dog law, which was
annexed. We then left them to choose the high chief, assuring them if
they did this unanimously by the following day at ten, we would all dine
together with the chief, on a fat ox, at three, himself and myself at
the head of the table; this pleased them well, and they set about it in
good cheer and high hopes; but this was a new and delicate task, and
they soon saw and felt it; however, all agreed that I must make the
selection, and so reported two hours after we left the council. Assuring
them this would not answer, that they must select their own chief, they
seemed somewhat puzzled, and wished to know if it would be proper to
counsel with Messrs. McKay and Rogers. On telling them that it was not
improper, they left, a little relieved, and worked poor Rogers and McKay
severely for many hours; but altogether at length figured it out, and in
great good humor, so reported at ten, appointing Ellis high chief.[6] He
is the one alluded to by the Bloody Chief, a sensible man of thirty-two,
reading, speaking, and writing the English language tolerably well; has
a fine small plantation, a few sheep, some neat stock, and no less than
eleven hundred head of horses. Then came on the feasting; our ox was
fat, and cooked and served up in a manner reminding me of the days of
yore; we ate beef, corn, and peas, to our fill, and in good cheer took
the pipe, when Rev. Mr. Spalding, Messrs. McKinley, Rogers, and McKay,
wished a song from our boatmen; it was no sooner given than returned by
the Indians, and repeated again, again, and again, in high cheer. I
thought it a good time, and required all having any claim to bring, or
grievances to allege, against Mr. Spalding, to meet me and the high
chief at evening, in the council-room, and requested Mr. Spalding to do
the same on the part of the Indians. We met at six, and ended at eleven,
having accomplished, in the happiest manner, much anxious business.
Being too well fed to be irritable or disposed to quarrel, both parties
were frank and open, seeming anxious only to learn our opinion upon
plain undisguised matters of fact, many of the difficulties having
arisen from an honest difference of sentiment respecting certain
measures.
[Footnote 6] He had been educated by the Hudson's Bay Company
at Red River, and was strongly attached to it.
Ellis, the chief, having conducted himself throughout in a manner
creditable to his head and heart, was quite as correct in his
conclusions and firm in his decisions as could have been expected. The
next day we had our last meeting, and one full of interest, in which
they proposed to me many grave and proper questions; and, as it was
manifestly desired, I advised in many matters, especially in reference
to begging, or even receiving presents without, in some way, returning
an equivalent; pointed out in strong language who beggars are among the
whites, and how regarded; and commended them for not once troubling me,
during my stay, with this disgusting practice; and as a token of
respect, now, at the close of our long and happy meeting, they would
please accept, in the name of my great chief, a present of fifty garden
hoes, not for those in authority, or such as had no need of them, but
for the chiefs and Mr. Spalding to distribute among their industrious
poor. I likewise, as they were very needy, proposed and ordered them
some medicines, to be distributed as they should from time to time be
required. This being done, I exhorted them to be in obedience to their
chiefs, highly approving the choice they had made, assuring them, as he
and the other chiefs were responsible to me for their good behavior, I
should feel it my duty to see them sustained in all lawful measures to
promote peace and order. I then turned, and with good effect desired all
the chiefs to look upon the congregation as their own children, and then
pointed to Mr. Spalding and lady, and told the chiefs, and all present,
to look upon them as their father and mother, and treat them in all
respects as such; and should they happen to differ in sentiment
respecting any matter during my absence, be cautious not to differ in
feeling, but leave it till I should again return, when the chief and
myself would rectify it. Thus closed this mutually happy and interesting
meeting, and mounting our horses for home, Mr. Spalding and the chiefs
accompanied us for some four or five miles, when we took leave of them
in the pleasantest manner, not a single circumstance having occurred to
mar our peace or shake each other's confidence.
I shall here introduce a note, previously prepared, giving some further
information respecting this tribe, and appending a copy of their laws.
The Nez Percés have one governor or principal chief, twelve subordinate
chiefs of equal power, being the heads of the different villages or
clans, with their five officers to execute all their lawful orders,
which law they have printed in their own language, and read
understandingly. The chiefs are held responsible to the whites for the
good behavior of the tribe. They are a happy and orderly people, forming
an honorable exception to the general Indian character, being more
industrious, cleanly, sensible, dignified, and virtuous.
This organization was effected last fall, and operates well, and with
them, it is to be hoped, will succeed. A few days since Governor
McLaughlin favored me with a note addressed to him from the Rev. H. H.
Spalding, missionary to this tribe, stating as follows:--
"The Indians in this vicinity are remarkably quiet this winter,
and are highly pleased with the laws recommended by Dr. White,
which were unanimously adopted by the chiefs and people in council
assembled. The visit of Dr. White and assistants to this upper
country will evidently prove an incalculable blessing to this
people. The school now numbers two hundred and twenty-four in
daily attendance, embracing most of the chiefs and principal men
of the nation."
_Laws of the Nez Percés._
ARTICLE 1. Whoever willfully takes life shall be hung.
ART. 2. Whoever burns a dwelling-house shall be hung.
ART. 3. Whoever burns an out-building shall be imprisoned six months,
receive fifty lashes, and pay all damages.
ART. 4. Whoever carelessly burns a house, or any property, shall pay
damages.
ART. 5. If any one enter a dwelling, without permission of the occupant,
the chiefs shall punish him as they think proper. Public rooms are
excepted.
ART. 6. If any one steal he shall pay back twofold; and if it be the
value of a beaver skin or less, he shall receive twenty-five lashes; and
if the value is over a beaver skin he shall pay back twofold, and
receive fifty lashes.
ART. 7. If any one take a horse and ride it, without permission, or take
any article and use it, without liberty, he shall pay for the use of it,
and receive from twenty to fifty lashes, as the chief shall direct.
ART. 8. If any one enter a field, and injure the crops, or throw down
the fence, so that cattle or horses go in and do damage, he shall pay
all damages, and receive twenty-five lashes for every offense.
ART. 9. Those only may keep dogs who travel or live among the game; if a
dog kill a lamb, calf, or any domestic animal, the owner shall pay the
damages and kill the dog.
ART. 10. If an Indian raise a gun or other weapon against a white man,
it shall be reported to the chiefs, and they shall punish it. If a white
do the same to an Indian, it shall be reported to Dr. White, and he
shall punish or redress it.
ART. 11. If an Indian break these laws, he shall be punished by his
chiefs; if a white man break them, he shall be reported to the agent,
and punished at his instance.
After a severe journey of some four days, through the inclemency of the
weather, we reached Wailatpu, Dr. Whitman's station, where we had many
most unpleasant matters to settle with the Cayuse tribe,--such as
personal abuse to Dr. Whitman and lady, burning the mill, etc. Several,
but not all, of the chiefs were present. Learning what the Nez Percés
had done gave them great concern and anxiety. Tawatowe, the high chief,
and Feather Cap were there, with some few more dignitaries, but
manifestly uneasy, being shy and cautious. I thought best under the
circumstances to be quiet, distant, and reserved, and let them commence
the conversation with my worthy and faithful friends, Rogers and McKay,
who conducted it with characteristic firmness and candor. They had not
proceeded far before Feather Cap, for the first time in his life, so far
as we know, commenced weeping, and wished to see me; said his heart was
sick, and he could not live long as he now felt. Tawatowe, who was no
way implicated personally in the difficulties, and a correct man,
continued for some time firm and steady to his purpose; said the whites
were much more to blame than the Indians; that three-fourths of them,
though they taught the purest doctrines, practiced the greatest
abominations,--alluding to the base conduct of many in the Rocky
Mountains, where they meet them on their buffalo hunts during the summer
season, and witness the greatest extravagances. They were shown the
inapplicability of such instances to the present cases of difficulty.
He, too, at last, was much subdued; wished to see me; was admitted; made
a sensible speech in his own favor; said he was constituted, eight years
before, high chief; entered upon its duties with spirit and courage,
determined to reduce his people to order. He flogged the young men and
reproved the middle-aged, till, having none to sustain him, his
popularity had so declined, that, except in seasons of difficulty
brought about by their improprieties, "I am left alone to say my prayers
and go to bed, to weep over the follies and wickedness of my people."
Here his voice trembled, and he wept freely; acknowledged it as his
opinion that the mill was burnt purposely by some disaffected persons
toward Dr. Whitman. I spoke kindly and somewhat encouragingly to these
chiefs; assured them the guilty only were to be regarded as such; and
that candor was commendable, and would be honored by all the good;
assured them I credited all they said, and deplored the state of their
nation, which was in perfect anarchy and confusion; told them I could
say but little to them now, as their chiefs were mostly abroad; but must
say the shocking conduct of one of the chiefs toward Mrs. Whitman
greatly afflicted me; and that, with the destruction of the mill, and
their abominable conduct toward Dr. Whitman, if not speedily settled,
would lead to the worst of consequences to their tribe. I made an
engagement, to meet them and all the tribe on the 10th of the ensuing
April, to adjust differences and come to a better understanding, they
earnestly wishing to adopt such laws as the Nez Percés had done. We
should probably have accomplished a satisfactory settlement, had not
several of the influential chiefs been too far away to get information
of the meeting. We reached Wascopum on December 25, the Indians being in
great excitement, having different views and impressions respecting the
nature of the approaching visit. We spent four days with them, holding
meetings daily, instructing them in the nature of government, civil
relations, domestic duties, etc. Succeeded, in like happy manner, with
them as with the Nez Percés, they unanimously adopting the same code of
laws.
Late information from one of their missionaries you will see in the
following note from Mr. H. B. Brewer:--
"The Indians of this place intend to carry out the regulations you
left them to the letter. They have been quite engaged in cutting
logs for houses, and live in expectation of better dwellings by and
by. For the least transgression of the laws, they are punished by
their chiefs immediately. The clean faces of some, and the tidy
dresses of others, show the good effects of your visit."
And here allow me to say, except at Wascopum, the missionaries of this
upper country are too few in number at their respective stations, and in
too defenseless a state for their own safety, or the best good of the
Indians, the latter taking advantage of these circumstances, to the no
small annoyance, and, in some instances, greatly endangering the
personal safety, of the former. You will see its bearings upon this
infant colony, and doubtless give such information or instructions to
the American Board of Commissioners, or myself, as will cause a
correction of this evil. It has already occasioned some difficulty and
much cost. I have insisted upon an increase of numbers at Mr. Spalding's
mission, which has accordingly been re-enforced by Mr. Littlejohn and
lady, rendering that station measurably secure; but not so at Wailatpu,
or some of the Catholic missions, where some of them lost a considerable
amount in herds during last winter, and, I am told, were obliged to
abandon their posts, their lives being endangered. This was in the
interior, near the Blackfoot country. You will observe, from the reports
of the different missions, which, so far as I am otherwise informed, are
correct, that they are doing some positive good in the country, not only
by diffusing the light of science abroad among us, but also by giving
employment to many, and, by their drafts upon the different Boards and
others, creating a circulating medium in this country; but, though they
make comparatively slow progress in the way of reform among the
aborigines of this country, their pious and correct example has a most
restraining influence upon both whites and Indians, and in this way they
prevent much evil.
They have in successful operation six schools. Rev. Mr. and Mrs.
Spalding (whose zeal and untiring industry for the benefit of the people
of their charge entitle them to our best considerations) have a school
of some two hundred and twenty-four, in constant attendance, most
successfully carried forward, which promises to be of great usefulness
to both sexes and all ages. Rev. Messrs. Walker and Eells I have not
been at leisure to visit, but learn they have two small schools in
operation; the one at Wailatpu, Dr. Whitman's station, is now
recommenced with promise of usefulness.
The Rev. Mr. Blanchet and associates, though zealous Catholics, are
peaceable, industrious, indefatigable, and successful in promoting
religious knowledge among the Canadian population and aborigines of this
country. Their enterprise in the erection of mills and other public
works is very commendable, and the general industry, good order, and
correct habits of that portion of the population under their charge is
sufficient proof that their influence over their people has been exerted
for good.[7] The Rev. Mr. Lee and associates, from their well-conducted
operations at the Dalles; upon the Columbia, and a school of some thirty
scholars successfully carried forward upon the Wallamet, are doing but
little for the Indians; nor could great efforts produce much good among
the scattered remnants of the broken tribes of this lower district, who
are fast disappearing before the ravages of the most loathsome diseases.
Their principal hopes of success in this country are among the whites,
where they are endeavoring to lay deep and broad the foundations of
science. The literary institution referred to by Mr. Lee is situated
upon a beautiful rising ground, a healthy and eligible location. Could a
donation of five thousand dollars be bestowed upon the institution, it
would greatly encourage its friends. The donations made by individuals
of this country have been most liberal, several giving one-third of all
they possessed. There is a small school established at Tualatin Plains
by Rev. Mr. Clark and lady. There is also a school at the Catholic
Mission, upon the Wallamet, and also one upon their station at Cowlitz.
For further information I will refer you to the reports made, at my
request, by the several missions, and accompanying these dispatches.
[Footnote 7] This statement about Rev. Mr. Blanchet and
associates, "their enterprise in erecting mills end other
public Works," shows how easy it was for the agent to
belittle his own countrymen's labors, and attribute to others
what they never attempted to do, and in the next paragraph
say they "are doing but little for the Indians;" while the
truth is, and was at the time, that Mr. Lee and his mission
were the only persons in the Wallamet Valley doing any thing
to improve the condition of the Indians, of which their
Indian school, now Wallamet University, is a permanent
monument, which Dr. White ignores in this report.
* * * * *
I must close by praying that measures may be speedily entered into to
take possession of this country, if such steps have not already been
taken. I left home before the close of the session of Congress, and by
reason do not know what disposition was made of Hon. Mr. Linn's bill. As
a reason for this praying, I would here say, the time was when the
gentlemen of the Hudson's Bay Company and the missions wielded the
entire influence over this small population; but as they have been
re-enforced latterly from whale ships, the Rocky Mountains, and the
Southwestern States, these hitherto salutary restraints and influences
are giving way, and being measurably lost.
At present I have considerable influence, but can not long expect to
retain it, especially in the faithful discharge of my duty. As a reason
for coming to such a conclusion, I had but just arrived from the
interior, when I received an urgent call to visit the mouth of the
Columbia. I left at once, in company with Nathaniel Crocker, Esq., Mr.
Rogers (my interpreter), his lady, and her young sister (the females
going only to the falls), with a crew of Indians, on our ill-fated
expedition. We reached the falls at sunset, February 1, and, by reason
of the water being higher than usual, in passing around a jutting or
projecting rock, the canoe came up suddenly against a log constituting
the landing, at which instant I stepped off, and in a moment the canoe
was swept away, with all its precious cargo, over the falls of
thirty-eight feet, three rods below. The shock was dreadful to this
infant colony, and the loss was dreadful and irreparable to me, Mr.
Rogers being more important to me than any one in the country; nor was
there a more respectable or useful man in the colony. Nathaniel Crocker
came in with me last fall from Tompkins County; he was much pleased with
the country and its prospects, and the citizens were rejoiced at the
arrival of such a man in this country; he was every way capacitated for
usefulness. None of the bodies of the four whites or two Indians have
been as yet found.
* * * * *
On arriving at the mouth of the Columbia, I found a sailor by the name
of George Geere, who had most evidently and maliciously labored to
instigate the Indians to take the life of one of the mission gentlemen,
by the offer of five blankets. Complaint being made, and having no
better means, I prevailed upon Governor McLaughlin to allow him to
accompany their express across the mountains to the States. I would here
say, as the scamp was nearly a fool as well as villain, I allowed him to
go without sending evidence against him, on condition of his going
voluntarily, and never returning.
I here likewise found a rash, venturesome character, about starting off
on a trapping and trading excursion among a somewhat numerous band of
Indians, and nowise well disposed toward the whites. As he saw and felt
no danger, arguments were of no avail, and threats only prevented.
Sir, shall men be allowed to go wherever they may please, however remote
from the colony, and settle, under circumstances that endanger not only
their own personal safety, but the peace and safety of the whole white
population? Please give me specific instructions respecting this matter.
* * * * *
I have eight prisoners on hand at present, for various crimes,
principally stealing horses, grain, etc.; and crimes are multiplying
with numbers among the whites, and with scarcity of game among the
Indians.
* * * * *
No intelligence from abroad has reached us this winter. Mount St. Helen,
one of these snow-capped volcanic mountains, some 16,000 feet above the
level of the sea, and eighty miles northwest of Vancouver, broke out
upon the 20th of November last, presenting a scene the most awful and
sublime imaginable, scattering smoke and ashes several hundred miles
distance.
A petition started from this country to-day, making bitter complaints
against the Hudson's Bay Company and Governor McLaughlin. On reference
to it (as a copy was denied), I shall only say, had any gentleman
disconnected with the Hudson's Bay Company been at half the pains and
expense to establish a claim on the Wallamet Falls, very few would have
raised an opposition. His half-bushel measure I know to be exact,
according to the English imperial standard. The gentlemen of this
company have been fathers and fosterers of the colony, ever encouraging
peace, industry, and good order, and have sustained a character for
hospitality and integrity too well established to be easily shaken.
I am, sir, sincerely and most respectfully, your humble and obedient
servant,
ELIJAH WHITE,
Sub-Agent Indian Affairs, W. R. M.
T. HARTLEY CRAWFORD, Esq.,
Commissioner Indian Affairs.
CHAPTER XXXI.
Letter of H. H. Spalding to Dr. White.--Account of his mission
among the Nez Percés.--Schools.--Cultivation.--Industrial
arts.--Moral character.--Arable land.--Letter of Commissioner of
Indian Affairs to the Secretary of War.
MY DEAR BROTHER,--The kind letter which our mission had the honor of
receiving from yourself, making inquiries relative to its numbers, the
character of the Indian tribes among whom its several stations are
located, the country, etc., is now before me.
The questions referring to Indian character are very important, and to
answer them demands a more extended knowledge of character and habits,
from personal daily observation, than the short residence of six years
can afford, and more time and attention than I can possibly command,
amidst the numerous cares and labors of the station. I less regret this,
as the latter will receive the attention of my better-informed and
worthy associates of the other stations.
Concerning many of the questions, I can only give my own half-formed
opinions, from limited observations which have not extended far beyond
the people of my immediate charge.
Our mission is under the patronage of the American Board, and was
commenced in the fall of 1836, by Marcus Whitman, M. D., and myself,
with our wives and Mr. Gray. Dr. Whitman was located at Wailatpu, among
the Cayuse Indians, twenty-five miles east of Fort Wallawalla, a
trading-post of the Hudson's Bay Company, which stands nine miles below
the junction of Lewis and Clarke rivers, three hundred from the Pacific,
and about two hundred from Fort Vancouver. I was located at this place,
on the Clearwater, or Koos-koos-ky River, twelve miles from its junction
with the Lewis River, one hundred and twenty miles east of Wailatpu. Mr.
Gray left the same winter, and returned to the States. In the fall of
1838, Mr. Gray returned to this country, accompanied by Mrs. Gray,
Messrs. Walker, Eells, and Smith, and their wives, and Mr. Rogers. The
next season, two new stations were commenced, one by Messrs. Walker and
Eells at Cimakain, near Spokan River, among the Spokan Indians, one
hundred and thirty-five miles northwest of this station, and sixty-five
miles south of Fort Colville, on the Columbia River, three hundred miles
above Fort Wallawalla; the second by Mr. Smith, among the Nez Percés,
sixty miles above this station. There are now connected with this
mission the Rev. Messrs. Walker and Eells, Mrs. Walker and Mrs. Eells;
at Cimakain, myself, and Mrs. Spalding at this station. Dr. Whitman is
now on a visit to the States, and Mrs. Whitman on a visit to the Dalles,
a station of our Methodist brethren. But two natives have as yet been
admitted into the church. Some ten or twelve others give pleasing
evidence of having been born again.
Concerning the schools and congregations on the Sabbath, I will speak
only of this station. The congregation on the Sabbath varies at
different seasons of the year, and must continue to do so until the
people find a substitute in the fruits of the earth and herds for their
roots, game, and fish, which necessarily require much wandering. I am
happy to say that this people are very generally turning their
attention, with much apparent eagerness, to cultivating the soil, and
raising hogs, cattle, and sheep, and find a much more abundant and
agreeable source of subsistence in the hoe than in their bows and sticks
for digging roots.
For a few weeks in the fall, after the people return from their buffalo
hunt, and then again, in the spring, the congregation numbers from one
to two thousand. Through the winter it numbers from two to eight
hundred. From July to the 1st of October, it varies from two to five
hundred. The congregation, as also the school, increases every winter,
as the quantity of provision raised in this vicinity is increased.
Preparatory to schools and a permanent congregation, my earliest
attention, on arriving in this country, was turned toward schools, as
promising the most permanent good to the nation, in connection with the
written word of God and the preached gospel. But to speak of schools
then was like speaking of the church bell, when as yet the helve is not
put in the first ax by which the timber is to be felled, or the first
stone laid in the dam which is to collect the water from whence the
lumber in the edifice in which the bell is to give forth its sounds.
Suffice it to say, through the blessing of God, we have had an
increasingly large school, for two winters past, with comparatively
favorable means of instruction.
But the steps by which we have been brought to the present elevation, if
I may so speak, though we are yet exceedingly low, begin far, far back
among the days of nothing, and little to do with.
Besides eating my own bread by the sweat of my brow, there were the
wandering children of a necessarily wandering people to collect and
bring permanently within the reach of the school. Over this department
of labor hung the darkest cloud, as the Indian is noted for despising
manual labor; but I would acknowledge, with humble gratitude, the
interposition of that hand which holds the hearts of all men. The hoe
soon brought hope, light, and satisfaction, the fruits of which are
yearly becoming much more than a substitute for their former precarious
game and roots, and are much preferred by the people, who are coming in
from the mountains and plains, and calling for hoes, plows, and seeds,
much faster than they can be furnished, and collecting around the
station in increasing numbers, to cultivate their little farms; so
furnishing a permanent school and congregation on the Sabbath, from four
to eight months, and, as the farms are enlarged, giving food and
employment for the year. I trust the school and congregation will be
permanent through the year. It was no small tax on my time to give the
first lessons on agriculture. That the men of the nation (the first
chiefs not excepted) rose up to labor when a few hoes and seeds were
offered them, I can attribute to nothing but the unseen hand of the God
of missions. That their habits are really changed is acknowledged by
themselves. The men say, whereas they once did not labor with their
hands, now they do; and often tell me in jesting that I have converted
them into a nation of women. They are a very industrious people, and,
from very small beginnings, they now cultivate their lands with much
skill, and to good advantage. Doubtless many more would cultivate, but
for the want of means. Your kind donation of fifty hoes, in behalf of
the government, will be most timely; and should you be able to send up
the plows you kindly proposed, they will, without doubt, be purchased
immediately, and put to the best use.
But to return to the school. It now numbers two hundred and twenty-five
in daily attendance, half of which are adults. Nearly all the principal
men and chiefs in this vicinity, with one chief from a neighboring
tribe, are members of the school. A new impulse was given to the school
by the warm interest yourself and Mr. McKay took in it while you were
here. They are as industrious in school as they are on their farms.
Their improvement is astonishing, considering their crowded condition,
and only Mrs. Spalding, with her delicate constitution and her family
cares, for their teacher.
About one hundred are printing their own books with a pen. This keeps up
a deep interest, as they daily have new lessons to print, and what they
print must be committed to memory as soon as possible.
A good number are now so far advanced in reading and printing as to
render much assistance in teaching. Their books are taken home at
nights, and every lodge becomes a schoolroom.
Their lessons are scripture lessons; no others (except the laws) seem to
interest them. I send you a specimen of the books they print in school.
It was printed by ten select adults, yet it is a fair specimen of a
great number in the school.
The laws which you so happily prepared, and which were unanimously
adopted by the people, I have printed in the form of a small
school-book. A great number of the school now read them fluently. I send
you a few copies of the laws, with no apologies for the imperfect manner
in which they are executed. Without doubt, a school of nearly the same
number could be collected at Kimiah, the station above this, vacated by
Mr. Smith, the present residence of Ellis, the principal chief.
_Number who cultivate._--Last season about one hundred and forty
cultivated from one-fourth of an acre to four or five acres each. About
half this number cultivate in the valley. One chief raised one hundred
and seventy-six bushels of peas last season, one hundred of corn, and
four hundred of potatoes. Another, one hundred and fifty of peas, one
hundred and sixty of corn, a large quantity of potatoes, vegetables,
etc. Ellis, I believe, raised more than either of the above-mentioned.
Some forty other individuals raised from twenty to one hundred bushels
of grain. Eight individuals are now furnished with plows. Thirty-two
head of cattle are possessed by thirteen individuals; ten sheep by four;
some forty hogs.
_Arts and sciences._--Mrs. Spalding has instructed ten females in
knitting, a majority of the female department in the schools in sewing,
six in carding and spinning, and three in weaving. Should our worthy
brother and sister, Mr. and Mrs. Littlejohn, join us soon, as is now
expected, I trust, by the blessing of God, we shall see greater things
than we have yet seen. From what I have seen in the field, the school,
the spinning and weaving room, in the prayer-room, and Sabbath
congregation, I am fully of the opinion that this people are susceptible
of high moral and civil improvement.
_Moral character of the people._--On this point there is a great
diversity of opinion. One writer styles them more a nation of saints
than of savages; and if their refusing to move camp for game, at his
suggestion, on a certain day, reminded him that the Sabbath extended as
far west as the Rocky Mountains, he might well consider them such.
Another styles them supremely selfish, which is nearer the truth; for,
without doubt, they are the descendants of Adam. What I have above
stated is evidently a part of the bright side of their character. But
there is also a dark side, in which I have sometimes taken a part. I
must, however, confess that when I attempt to name it, and hold it up as
a marked exception to a nation in similar circumstances, without the
restraint of wholesome laws, and strangers to the heaven-born fruits of
enlightened and well-regulated society, I am not able to do it. Faults
they have, and very great ones, yet few of them seemed disposed to break
the Sabbath by traveling and other secular business. A very few indulge
in something like profane swearing. Very few are superstitiously
attached to their medicine men, who are, without doubt, sorcerers, and
are supposed to be leagued with a supernatural being (Waikin), who shows
himself sometimes in the gray bear, the wolf, the swan, goose, wind,
clouds, etc.
Lying is very common; thieving comparatively rare; polygamy formerly
common, but now rare; much gambling among the young men; quarreling and
fighting quite rare; habit of taking back property after it is sold is a
practice quite common, and very evil in its tendency. All these evils, I
conceive, can be traced to the want of wholesome laws and well-regulated
society. There are two traits in the character of this people I wish to
notice. One I think I can account for; the other I can not. It is often
said the Indian is a noble-minded being, never forgetting a kindness. So
far as my experience has gone with this people, the above is most
emphatically true, but in quite a different sense from the idea there
conveyed. It is true they never forget a kindness, but after make it an
occasion to ask another; and if refused, return insults according to the
favors received. My experience has taught me that, if I would keep the
friendship of an Indian, and do him good, I must show him no more favor
in the way of property than what he returns some kind of an equivalent
for; most of our trials have arisen from this source. I am, however,
happy to feel that there is a manifest improvement as the people become
more instructed, and we become more acquainted with their habits. This
offensive trait in the Indian character I believe, in part, should be
charged to the white man. It has been the universal practice of all
white men to give tobacco, to name no other article, to Indians when
they ask for it. Hence two very natural ideas: one is, that the white
man is in debt to them; the other is, that in proportion as a white man
is a good man he will discharge this debt by giving bountifully of his
provisions and goods. This trait in Indian character is capable of being
turned to the disadvantage of traders, travelers, and missionaries, by
prejudiced white men.
The last trait, which I can not account for, is an apparent disregard
for the rights of white men. Although their eagerness to receive
instruction in school on the Sabbath and on the farm is without a
parallel in my knowledge, still, should a reckless fellow from their own
number, or even a stranger, make an attack on my life or property, I
have no evidence to suppose but a vast majority of them would look on
with indifference and see our dwelling burnt to the ground and our heads
severed from our bodies. I can not reconcile this seeming want of
gratitude with their many encouraging characteristics. But to conclude
this subject, should our unprofitable lives, through a kind Providence,
be spared a few years, by the blessing of the God of missions, we expect
to see this people Christianized to a great extent, civilized, and
happy, with much of science and the word of God, and many of the
comforts of life; but not without many days of hard labor, and sore
trials of disappointed hopes, and nameless perplexities.
The number of this people is variously estimated from two thousand to
four thousand. I can not give a correct estimate.
At this station there is a dwelling-house, a schoolhouse, storehouse,
flour and saw mills (all of a rough kind), fifteen acres of land under
improvement, twenty-four head of cattle, thirty-six horses, sixty-seven
sheep. Rev. Messrs. Walker and Eells, I hope, will report of Wailatpu;
but should they fail, I will say, as near as I can recollect, about
fifty acres of land are cultivated by some seventy individuals; a much
greater number of cattle and hogs than among this people. Belonging to
the station are thirty-four head of cattle, eleven horses, some forty
hogs; one dwelling-house of adobes (well finished), a blacksmith's shop,
flour-mill (lately destroyed by fire), and some forty acres of land
cultivated.
_Arable land._--The arable land in this upper country is confined almost
entirely to the small streams, although further observation may prove
that many of the extensive rolling prairies are capable of producing
wheat. They can become inhabited only by cultivating timber; but the
rich growth of buffalo grass upon them will ever furnish an
inexhaustible supply for innumerable herds of cattle and sheep. I know
of no country in the world so well adapted to the herding system.
Cattle, sheep, and horses are invariably healthy, and produce rapidly;
sheep usually twice a year. The herding system adopted, the country at
first put under regulations adapted to the scarcity of habitable places
(say that no settlers shall be allowed to take up over twenty acres of
land on the streams), and the country without doubt will sustain a great
population. I am happy to feel assured that the United States government
have no other thoughts than to regard the rights and wants of the Indian
tribes in this country.
And while the agency of Indian affairs in this country remains in the
hands of the present agent, I have the fullest confidence to believe
that the reasonable expectations in reference to the intercourse between
whites and Indians will be fully realized by every philanthropist and
every Christian. But as the Indian population is sparse, after they are
abundantly supplied, there will be remaining country sufficient for an
extensive white population.
The thought of removing these tribes, that the country may come wholly
in possession of the whites, can never for a moment enter the mind of a
friend of the red man, for two reasons, to name no other: First, there
are but two countries to which they can be removed, the grave and the
Blackfoot, between which there is no choice; second, the countless
millions of salmon which swarm the Columbia and its tributaries, and
furnish a very great proportion of the sustenance of the tribes who
dwell upon these numerous waters, and a substitute for which can nowhere
be found east or west of the Rocky Mountains, but in herds or
cultivating their own land.----
Your humble servant,
H. H. SPALDING.
Dr. WHITE,
Agent for Indian Affairs west of the Rocky Mountains.
* * * * *
DEPARTMENT OF WAR,}
OFFICE OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, Nov. 25, 1844.}
Communications have been received from Dr. Elijah White, sub-agent for
the Indians in Oregon Territory, dated, severally, November 15, 1843,
and March 18, 1844.----They contain much of interest in considerable
detail. The establishment of white settlements from the United States,
in that remote region, seems to be attended with the circumstances that
have always arisen out of the conversion of an American wilderness into
a cultivated and improved region, modified by the great advance of the
present time in morals, and benevolent and religious institutions. It is
very remarkable that there should be so soon several well-supported,
well-attended, and well-conducted schools in Oregon. The Nez Percé tribe
of Indians have adopted a few simple and plain laws of their code, which
will teach them self-restraint, and is the beginning of government on
their part.
It is painful, however, to know that a distillery for the manufacture of
whisky was erected and in operation west of the Rocky Mountains, which,
however, the sub-agent, sustained by the resident whites, broke up and
destroyed. There was, in February last, an affray between a very
boisterous and desperate Indian and his party and a portion of the
settlers, which ended in the death of several of the combatants. This
unfortunate affair was adjusted, as it is hoped, satisfactorily and
permanently, by the sub-agent, though he seems to apprehend an early
outbreak. I trust he is mistaken.
Respectfully submitted,
T. HARTLEY CRAWFORD.
Hon. WILLIAM WILKINS,
Secretary of War.
CHAPTER XXXII.
Dr. E. White's letter to the Secretary of War.--Excitement among
the Indians.--Visit to Nez Percés, Cayuses, and
Wallawallas.--Destitution and degradation of the Coast
Indians.--Dr. White eulogizes Governor McLaughlin and the Hudson's
Bay Company.--Schools and missions.--Mr. Jesse Applegate.--Dr.
White's second letter.--Letters of Peter H. Hatch and W. H.
Wilson.--Seizure of a distillery.--Search for liquor.--Letter of
James D. Saules.--Fight with Indians.--Death of
Cockstock.--Description and character of him.--The Molallos and
Klamaths.--Agreement with the Dalles Indians.--Presents to
Cockstock's widow.--Dr. White's third letter.--Letter of Rev. G.
Hines to Dr. White.--Letter of W. Medill.
WALLAMET VALLEY, OREGON,}
November 15, 1843.}
HONORED SIR,--Since my arrival, I have had the honor of addressing you
some three or four communications, the last of which left early in
April, conveyed by the Hudson's Bay Company's express over the Rocky
Mountains, _via_ Canada, which I hope and judge was duly received.
Immediately after this, I received several communications from
missionaries of the interior, some from the Methodists and others from
those sent out by the American Board, representing the Indians of the
interior as in a state of great excitement, and under much apprehension
from the circumstance that such numbers of whites were coming in, as
they were informed, to take possession of their lands and country. The
excitement soon became general, both among whites and Indians, in this
lower as well upper district; and such were the constantly floating
groundless reports, that much uneasiness was felt, and some of our
citizens were under such a state of apprehension as to abandon their
houses, and place themselves more immediately within the precincts of
the colony. As in all such cases, a variety of opinions was entertained
and expressed,--some pleading for me, at the expense of the general
government, to throw up a strong fortification in the center of the
colony, and furnish the settlers with guns and ammunition, so that we
might be prepared for extremities. Others thought it more advisable for
me to go at once with an armed force of considerable strength to the
heart and center of the conspiracy, as it was represented, and if words
would not answer, make powder and balls do it. A third party entertained
other views, and few were really agreed on any one measure.
As may be imagined, I felt the awkwardness of my position; but, without
stopping to consult an agitated populace, selected a sensible clergyman
and a single attendant, with my interpreter, and so managed as to throw
myself immediately into their midst unobserved. The measure had the
desired effect,--though, as in my report I will more fully inform you,
it had like to have cost me my life.
The Indians flocked around me, and inquired after my party, and could
not be persuaded for some time, but that I had a large party concealed
somewhere near, and only waited to get them convened, to open a fire
upon and cut them all off at a blow. On convincing them of my
defenseless condition and pacific intentions, they were quite astounded
and much affected, assuring me they had been under strong apprehensions,
having learned I was soon to visit them with a large armed party, with
hostile intentions, and I actually found them suffering more from fears
of war from the whites, than the whites from the Indians; each party
resolving, however, to remain at home, and there fight to the last,
though, fortunately, some three or four hundred miles apart.[8]
[Footnote 8] Who were the instigators of these alarms among
the Indians?
The day following, we left these Wallawallas and Cayuses, to pay a visit
to the Nez Percés, promising to call on our return, and enter into a
treaty of amity, if we could agree on the terms, and wished them to give
general notice to all concerned of both tribes.
In two days we were at Mr. Spalding's station. The Nez Percés came
together in greater numbers than on any former occasion for years, and
all the circumstances combining to favor it, received us most cordially.
Their improvement during the winter in reading, writing, etc., was
considerable, and the enlargement of their plantations, with the
increased variety and quantities of the various kinds of grains and
products now vigorously shooting forth, connected with the better state
of cultivation and their universally good fences, were certainly most
encouraging.
Spending some three days with this interesting tribe, and their
missionaries, in the pleasantest manner, they accepted my invitation to
visit with me the Cayuses and Wallawallas, and assist by their influence
to bring them into the same regulation they had previously adopted, and
with which all were so well pleased.
Mr. Spalding, and Ellis, the high chief, with every other chief and
brave of importance, and some four or five hundred of the men and their
women, accompanied us to Wailatpu, Doctor Whitman's station, a distance
of a hundred and twenty miles, where we met the Cayuses and Wallawallas
in mass, and spent some five or six days in getting matters adjusted
and principles settled, so as to receive the Cayuses into the civil
compact; which being done, and the high chief elected, much to the
satisfaction of both whites and Indians, I ordered two fat oxen to be
killed, and wheat, salt, etc., distributed accordingly.----
This was the first feast at which the Indian women of this country were
ever permitted to be present, but probably will not be the last; for,
after some explanation of my reasons, the chiefs were highly pleased
with it; and I believe more was done at that feast to elevate and bring
forward their poor oppressed women than could have been done in years by
private instruction.
The feast broke up in the happiest manner, after Five Crows, the Cayuse
chief, Ellis, and the old war chief of whom I made particular mention in
my last report as being so well acquainted with Clarke and a few others,
had made their speeches, and we had smoked the pipe of peace, which was
done by all in great good humor.
From this we proceeded to the Dalles on the Columbia River, where I
spent two months in instructing the Indians of different tribes, who
either came in mass, or sent embassadors to treat with me, or, as they
denominate it, take my laws, which are thus far found to operate well,
giving them greater security among themselves, and helping much to
regulate their intercourse with the whites. Being exceedingly anxious to
bring about an improvement and reformation among this people, I begged
money and procured articles of clothing to the amount of a few hundred
dollars, not to be given, but to be sold out to the industrious women,
for mats, baskets, and their various articles of manufacture, in order
to get them clothed comfortably to appear at church; enlisted the
cheerful co-operation of the mission ladies in instructing them how to
sew and make up their dresses; and had the happiness to see some twenty
of these neatly clad at divine service, and a somewhat large number out
in the happiest mood to a feast I ordered them, at which the mission
ladies and gentlemen were present.
During these two months I labored hard, visiting many of their sick
daily; and by the most prompt and kind attention, and sympathizing with
them in their affliction, encouraging the industrious and virtuous, and
frowning in language and looks upon the vicious, I am satisfied good was
done. They gave evidence of attachment; and my influence was manifestly
increased, as well as the laws more thoroughly understood, by reason of
my remaining so long among them.
During my up-country excursion, the whites of the colony convened, and
formed a code of laws to regulate intercourse between themselves during
the absence of law from our mother country, adopting in almost all
respects the Iowa code. In this I was consulted, and encouraged the
measure, as it was so manifestly necessary for the collection of debts,
securing rights in claims, and the regulation of general intercourse
among the whites.
Thus far, these laws have been of some force and importance, answering
well in cases of trespass and the collection of debts; but it is
doubtful how they would succeed in criminal affairs, especially if there
should happen to be a division of sentiment in the public mind.
The Indians of this lower country, as was to be expected, give
considerable trouble, and are most vexatious subjects to deal with. In
mind, the weakest and most depraved of their race, and physically,
thoroughly contaminated with the scrofula and a still more loathsome
disease entailed by the whites; robbed of their game and former means of
covering; lost to the use of the bow and arrow; laughed at, scoffed, and
contemned by the whites, and a hiss and by-word to the surrounding
tribes, they are too dejected and depressed to feel the least pleasure
in their former amusements, and wander about seeking generally a scanty
pittance by begging and pilfering, but the more ambitious and desperate
among them stealing, and in some instances plundering on a large scale.
Were it not that greater forbearance is exercised toward them than
whites generally exercise, bloodshed, anarchy, and confusion would reign
predominant among us. But thus far, it is but just to say, the Indians
have been, in almost every instance, the aggressors; and though none of
us now apprehend an Indian war or invasion, it appears to me morally
impossible that general quiet can long be secure, unless government
takes almost immediate measures to relieve the anxieties and better the
condition of these poor savages and other Indians of this country. I am
doing what I can, and by reason of my profession, with lending them all
the assistance possible in sickness, and sympathizing with them in their
numerous afflictions, and occasionally feeding, feasting, and giving
them little tokens of kind regard, have as yet considerable influence
over them, but have to punish some, and occasion the chiefs to punish
more, which creates me enemies, and must eventuate in lessening my
influence among them, unless the means are put in my hands to sustain
and encourage the chiefs and well-disposed among them. _Good words_,
_kind looks_, and _medicine_ have some _power_; but, honored and very
dear sir, _you_ and _I_ know they do not tell with Indians like blankets
and present articles, to meet their tastes, wants, and necessities. Sir,
I know how deeply anxious you are to benefit and save what can be of the
withering Indian tribes, in which God knows how fully and heartily I am
with you, and earnestly pray you, and through you our general
government, to take immediate measures to satisfy the minds, and, so far
as possible, render to these Indians an equivalent for their once
numerous herds of deer, elk, buffalo, beaver, and otter, nearly as tame
as our domestic animals, previously to the whites and their fire-arms
coming among them, and of which they are now stripped, and for which
they suffer. But, if nothing can be done for them upon this score, pray
save them from being forcibly ejected from the lands and graves of their
fathers, of which they begin to entertain serious fears. Many are
becoming considerably enlightened on the subject of the white man's
policy, and begin to quake in view of their future doom; and come to me
from time to time, anxiously inquiring what they are to receive for such
a one coming and cutting off all their most valuable timber, and
floating it to the falls of the Wallamet, and getting large sums for it;
some praying the removal of licentious whites from among them; others
requiring pay for their old homestead, or a removal of the intruders.
So, sir, you see already I have my hands, head, and heart full; and if
as yet I have succeeded in giving satisfaction,--as many hundreds that
neither know nor care for me, nor regard in the least the rights of the
Indians, are now flocking in,--something more must be done, and that
speedily, or a storm ensues.
I remove all licentious offenders from among them, especially if located
at a distance from the colony, and encourage the community to keep
within reasonable bounds, and settle as compactly as the general
interest and duty to themselves will admit.
The large immigrating party have now arrived, most of them with _their
herds_, having left the wagons at Wallawalla and the Dalles, which they
intend to bring by land or water to the Wallamet in the spring. Whether
they succeed in getting them through by land the last sixty miles is
doubtful, the road not having been as yet well explored. They are
greatly pleased with the country and its prospects. Mr. Applegate, who
has been so much in government employ, and surveyed such portions of
Missouri, says of this valley, it is a country of the greatest beauty
and the finest soil he has seen.
The settlers are actively and vigorously employed, and the colony in a
most prosperous state, crops of every kind having been unusually good
this season. The little unhappy difference between the American settlers
and the Hudson's Bay Company, arising from the last spring's petition to
our government, has been healed, and we have general quiet,--both
parties conducting themselves very properly toward each other at
present. And here allow me to say, the seasonable services in which
hundreds of dollars were gratuitously expended in assisting such numbers
of our poor emigrant citizens down the Columbia to the Wallamet, entitle
Governor McLaughlin, saying nothing of his previous fatherly and
fostering care of this colony, to the honorable consideration of the
members of our government. And I hope, as he is desirous to settle with
his family in this country, and has made a claim at the falls of the
Wallamet, his claim will be honored in such a manner as to make him
conscious that we, as a nation, are not insensible to his numerous acts
of benevolence and hospitality toward our countrymen. Sir, in the midst
of slander, envy, jealousy, and, in too many instances, of the blackest
ingratitude, his unceasing, never-tiring hospitality affects me, and
makes him appear in a widely different light than too many would have
him and his worthy associates appear before the world.
The last year's report, in which was incorporated Mr. Linn's Oregon
speech and Captain Spalding's statements of hundreds of unoffending
Indians being shot down annually by men under his control, afflicts the
gentlemen of the Hudson's Bay Company, and is utterly without
foundation,--no company or gentlemen ever having conducted themselves
more judiciously among Indians than they uniformly have done in this
country; and I am of the governor's opinion, who declares, openly, there
have not been ten Indians killed by whites in this whole region west of
Fort Hall, for the last twenty years, nor do I know of that number, and
two of those were killed by our citizens. What were destroyed by the
Hudson's Bay Company suffered for willful murder, none pretending a
doubt of the propriety of the course adopted.[9]
[Footnote 9] This statement of Dr. White's shows his
disposition to misrepresent his own countrymen, to favor the
Hudson's Bay Company and the foreign subjects who were
disposed to flatter his vanity.
There are now four schools kept in the colony, of which I shall speak
more fully in my annual report: one at the Tualatin Plains, under the
direction and auspices of the Rev. Mr. Clark, a self-supporting
missionary; a second (French and English) school is in successful
operation by Mr. Blanchet, Roman Catholic missionary to this colony; a
third is well sustained by the citizens, and kept at the falls of the
Wallamet; a fourth (boarding and manual labor) sustained by the
Methodist Board of Missions, for the benefit of Indian youth, of which
Mr. Lee will speak particularly. The location is healthy, eligible, and
beautiful, and the noble edifice does honor to the benevolent cause and
agents that founded it. And while here, allow me to say, Mr. Jesse
Applegate, from Missouri, is now surveying the mission claim, a plat of
which will be presented to the consideration of the members of our
government, for acceptance or otherwise, of which I have but little to
say, as I entertain no doubt but Mr. Lee's representation will be most
faithful. Should the ground of his claim be predicated upon the much
effected for the benefit of the Indians, I am not with him; for, with
all that has been expended, without doubting the correctness of the
intention, it is most manifest to every observer that the Indians of
this lower country, as a whole, have been very little benefited. They
were too far gone with scrofula and venereal. But should he insist, as a
reason of his claim, the benefit arising to the colony and country, I am
with him heartily; and notwithstanding the claim is a valuable one, this
country has been increased more by the mission operations than twice its
amount in finance; besides, much has been done in advancing
civilization, temperance, literature, and good morals, saying nothing of
the evils that must have arisen in this lawless country in the absence
of all moral restraint. Mr. Lee was among the first pioneers to this
distant land, has struggled in its cares, toils, and trials, has risen
with its rise; and it is but just to say, he and his associates are
exerting a considerable and most salutary influence all abroad among us.
I hope his reception will be such that he will return from Washington
cheered and encouraged to pursue his benevolent operations in this
country. The Catholic and the different Protestant missions have been
prosperous during the last year, and are as generally acceptable to the
whites as could, from their different pursuits, have been expected.----
Great expectations are entertained, from the fact that Mr. Linn's bill
has passed the Senate; and as it has been so long before the public, and
favorably entertained at Washington, should it at last fail of passing
the Lower House, suffer me to predict, in view of what so many have been
induced to undergo, in person and property, to get to this distant
country, it will create a disaffection so strong as to end only in open
rebellion; whereas, should it pass into a law, it will be regarded as
most liberal and handsome, and will be appreciated by most, if not all,
in Oregon.
As to the claim for the Oregon Institute, I need say nothing, having
said enough in my last report; but, as that may have failed in reaching,
I would just remark, that the location is a healthy one, and the site
fine, with prospect charmingly varied, extensive, and beautiful.
I leave this subject with Mr. Lee and the members of our liberal
government, not doubting but that all will be done for this Institute,
and otherwise, that can be, and as soon as practicable, to lay deep and
broad the foundation of science and literature in this Country.----
Respectfully yours,
ELIJAH WHITE,
Sub-Agent Indian Affairs, W. R. M.
Hon. J. M. PORTER,
Secretary of War.
* * * * *
WALLAMET, March 18, 1844.
SIR,--On the evening of the 1st February, the two following letters came
to me, finding me in the upper settlement of the Wallamet, distance
forty miles:--
"WALLAMET FALLS, January 29, 1844.
"DEAR SIR,--The undersigned would take this occasion to inform you
that there have been of late in this place some few cases of
intoxication from the effects of ardent spirits. It is currently
reported that it is distilled in this place, and the undersigned
have good reason to credit such reports. While, therefore, the
undersigned will not trouble you, sir, with a detailed exposition
of the facts, they must be permitted to express their deliberate
conviction that that which has inflicted so much injury upon the
morals, the peace, and the happiness of the world, ought not to be
permitted to be manufactured in this country under any
circumstances. And your attention is respectfully invited to this
subject.
"We have the honor to be, dear sir,
"PETER H. HATCH, President.
"A. L. LOVEJOY, Vice-President.
"A. F. WALLER, Secretary.
"Dr. E. WHITE,
"Sub-Agent for Indian Affairs, Oregon Territory."
"WALLAMET FALLS, January 26, 1844.
"DEAR SIR,--I do not know but you have been written to already on
the subject which is the cause of no inconsiderable excitement at
this place, viz., the manufacture and use of that most degrading,
withering, and damning of all the curses that have ever visited our
race since the fall of Adam. As much as we regret it, deplore it,
and anathematize the men who make it, it is nevertheless made, and
men, or rather biped brutes, get drunk. Now, we believe if there is
any thing that calls your attention in your official capacity, or
any thing in which you would be most cordially supported by the good
sense and prompt action of the better part of the community, it is
the present case. We do not wish to dictate, but hope for the best,
begging pardon for intrusions.
"I am, dear sir, yours truly,
"W. H. WILSON.
"ELIJAH WHITE, Esq.,
"Sub-Agent Oregon Territory."
I accordingly left at sunrise on the following morning, and reached the
falls at sunset. Without delay, I secured the criminal and his
distillery, broke his apparatus, and buried it in the Wallamet River. I
put the aggressor under bonds, in the strongest penalty the nature of
the case would admit,--$300,--few being willing to be his bondsmen even
for this amount.
Mr. Pettygrove, a merchant, of good habits and character, being accused
of keeping and selling wine and brandy, I searched, and found, as he had
acknowledged, half a gallon of brandy and part of a barrel of port wine,
which has been used, and occasionally parted with, only for medicinal
purposes; and, to avoid all appearance of partiality, I required the
delivery of the brandy and wine on the delivery of the inclosed bond,
which was most cheerfully and cordially given,--amount $1,000. I
searched every suspicious place thoroughly, aided by the citizens, but
found no ardent spirits or wine in the colony. Since this period, no
attempts have been made to make, introduce, or vend liquors; and the
great majority of the colonists come warmly to my support in this
matter, proffering their aid to keep this bane from our community.
On the evening of February 20, I received the following communication,
accompanied by corroboratory statements from Mr. Foster, of Oregon
City:--
"WALLAMET FALLS, February 16, 1844.
"SIR,--I beg leave to inform you that there is an Indian about this
place, of the name of Cockstock, who is in the habit of making
continual threats against the settlers in this neighborhood, and
who has also murdered several Indians lately. He has conducted
himself lately in so outrageous a manner, that Mr. Winslow Anderson
has considered himself in personal danger, and on that account has
left his place, and come to reside at the falls of the Wallamet;
and were I in circumstances that I could possibly remove from my
place, I would certainly remove also, but am so situated that it is
not possible for me to do so. I beg, therefore, that you, sir, will
take into consideration the propriety of ridding the country of a
villain, against the depredations of whom none can be safe, as it
is impossible to guard against the lurking attacks of the midnight
murderer. I have, therefore, taken the liberty of informing you
that I shall be in expectation of a decided answer from you on or
before the 10th of March next; after that date, I shall consider
myself justified in acting as I shall see fit, on any repetition of
the threats made by the before-mentioned Indian or his party.
"I am, etc., with respect,
"JAMES D. SAULES.
"Dr. E. WHITE, Superintendent, etc."
As I well knew all the individuals concerned, I resolved to repair
immediately to the spot, and, if possible, secure the Indian without
bloodshed, as he was connected with some of the most formidable tribes
in this part of the Territory, though a very dangerous and violent
character. Accordingly I started, and reaching the falls on the
following evening, collected a party to repair to the spot and secure
him while asleep, knowing that he would not submit to be taken a
prisoner without resistance. The evening was stormy, and the distance
some eight miles, through thick wood and fallen timber, with two bad
streams to cross. Being on foot, my party declined the attempt till
morning,--a circumstance I much regretted; yet, having no military
force, I was compelled to yield. In the morning I headed the party of
ten men to take this Indian, who had only five adherents, in hopes to
surprise and secure him without fighting,--enjoining my men, from many
considerations, not to fire unless ordered to do so in self-defense.
Unfortunately, two horses had just been stolen and a house plundered,
and the Indians absconded, leaving no doubt on our minds of their being
the thieves, as, after tracking them two or three miles into the forest,
they had split off in such a manner as to elude pursuit, and we were
forced to return to town unsuccessful, as further pursuit was little
more rational than chasing an eagle amidst the mountains. Cockstock had
sworn vengeance against several of my party, and they thirsted for his
blood. Having no other means of securing him, I offered $100 reward to
any who would deliver him safely into my hands, as I wished to convey
him for trial to the authorities constituted among the Nez Percés and
Cayuses, not doubting that they would feel honored in inflicting a just
sentence upon him, and the colony thereby be saved from an Indian war,
so much to be dreaded in our present weak and defenseless condition.
Some six days subsequent, Cockstock and his party, six in all, came into
town at midday, rode from house to house, showing his loaded pistols,
and not allowing any one, by artifice or flattery, to get them out of
his bosom or hand. He and his party were horridly painted, and rode
about the town, setting, as the citizens, and especially his enemies,
construed it, the whole town at defiance. The citizens endured it for
several hours, but with great impatience, when at length he crossed the
river, and entered the Indian village opposite, and, as the chief
states, labored for some time to induce them to join him and burn down
the town that night, destroying as many of the whites as possible.
Failing in this (if serious or correct in statement, which is much
doubted by some, as the chief and whole Indian village were inimical to
him, and doubtless wished, as he was a "brave," to make the whites the
instrument of his destruction), he obtained an interpreter, and
recrossed the river, as other Indians state, for the purpose of calling
the whites to an explanation for pursuing him with hostile intentions.
By this time, the excitement had become intense with all classes and
both sexes among the whites, and, as was to be expected, they ran in
confusion and disorder toward the point where the Indians were
landing,--some to take him alive and get the reward; others to shoot him
at any risk to themselves, the wealthiest men in town promising to stand
by them to the amount of $1,000 each. With these different views, and no
concert of action, and many running merely to witness the affray, the
Indians were met at the landing, and a firing commenced simultaneously
on both sides, each party accusing the other of firing first. In the
midst of a hot firing on both sides, Mr. George W. Le Breton, a
respectable young man, rushed unarmed upon Cockstock, after the
discharge of one or more of his pistols, and received a heavy discharge
in the palm of his right hand, lodging one ball in his elbow and another
in his arm, two inches above the elbow-joint. A scuffle ensued, in which
he fell with the Indian, crying out instantly, "He is killing me with
his knife." At this moment a mulatto man ran up, named Winslow Anderson,
and dispatched Cockstock, by mashing his skull with the barrel of his
rifle, using it as a soldier would a bayonet. In the mean time the other
Indians were firing among the whites in every direction, with guns,
pistols, and poisoned arrows, yelling fearfully, and many narrowly
escaped. Two men, who were quietly at work near by, were wounded with
arrows (Mr. Wilson slightly in the hip, and Mr. Rogers in the muscle of
the arm), but neither, as was supposed, dangerously. The five Indians
having shot their guns and arrows, retired toward the bluff east of the
town, lodged themselves in the rocks, and again commenced firing upon
the citizens indiscriminately. Attention was soon directed that way, and
fire-arms having been brought, the Indians were soon routed, killing one
of their horses, and wounding one of them, thus ending the affray.
Mr. Le Breton (the surgeon being absent from town) was removed
immediately to Vancouver, where he received every attention; but the
canoe having been ten hours on the passage, the poison had diffused
itself all abroad into his system, and proved mortal in less than three
days from the moment of the horrid disaster. Mr. Rogers lived but one
day longer, though but slightly wounded with an arrow in the muscles of
his arm. Mr. Wilson has suffered comparatively little, but is not
considered in a safe condition.
This unhappy affray has created a general sensation throughout the
colony, and all abroad among the Indians of this lower district. Now,
while I am penning these lines, I am completely surrounded by at least
seventy armed Indians, just down from the Dalles of the Columbia, many
of them the professed relatives of the deceased, on the way to the falls
of the Wallamet, to demand an explanation, or, in other words, to extort
a present for the loss of their brother.
They appear well affected toward me; remarkably so, though armed to the
teeth, and painted horridly. I am every moment expecting my interpreter,
when I shall probably learn particulars respecting their intentions. In
the mean time, I will give a few particulars respecting this deceased
Indian's previous course, which led to the disaster, showing how much we
need authorities and discipline in this country.
As it is said, a negro hired Cockstock for a given time, to be paid in a
certain horse. Before the time expired, the negro sold the horse and
land claim to another negro, the Indian finishing his time with the
purchaser, according to agreement. Learning, however, to his chagrin and
mortification, that the horse had changed owners, and believing it a
conspiracy against his rights, he resolved to take the horse forcibly;
did so, and this led to a year's contention, many threats, some wounds,
and at last to the three deaths, and may possibly lead to all the
horrors of savage warfare in our hitherto quiet neighborhood. It was
this identical Cockstock that occasioned much of the excitement last
spring among the whites of the colony, actually driving several from
their homes to the more central parts of the settlement for protection.
I saw and had an interview with the Indians in June following, and
settled all differences, to appearances, satisfactorily; but, four
months subsequently, having occasioned the authorities constituted among
the Indians to flog one of his connections for violently entering the
house of the Rev. H. K. W. Perkins, seizing his person, and attempting
to tie, with a view to flog him, he took fire afresh, and in November
last came with a slave to my house, with the avowed object of shooting
me down at once; but finding me absent, after a close search in every
part of the house, he commenced smashing the windows, lights, sash, and
all, of my house and office, with the breech of his gun; and it is but
just to say he did his work most effectually, not leaving a sound window
in either. He next started hotly in pursuit of my steward, who was most
actively retreating, but was soon overtaken and seized by the shoulder;
his garment giving way saved the frightened young man from further
violence.
I returned late in the evening,--this having occurred at three
P.M.--when the villains were too far away to be overtaken, though I
pursued them with the best men of the colony during the whole night, and
as long after as we could trace them. This was regarded as a great
outrage, and created a strong sensation throughout the community:
especially as none knew where to trace it until within a few weeks past.
Some four weeks subsequently, fifteen Indians came riding into the
neighborhood in open day, painted and well armed. I was the first, with
one exception, that observed them, and learned that they were Molallas
and Klamaths, and felt confident they were on an errand of mischief,
being well informed of their marauding and desperate habits. As this is
quite out of their province, the proper homes of the Klamaths being at
least three hundred miles to the south, and the Molallas, with whom they
intermarry, having their lodges in the Cascade Mountains, a distance of
from forty to eighty miles, I resolved at once to turn their visit to
account; sent my steward to Chief Caleb's lodge, where all had arrived,
he being a Callapooya, and with his band having previously entered with
me into the civil compact, and gave him a cordial invitation to call on
me, with the chiefs of his district, in the morning, as I wished to see
them and had some interesting and pleasing news to convey to them. The
chiefs called in the morning, none, however, appearing so pleased and
happy as Caleb. Of this I took no notice, but entered into cheerful
conversation with Caleb for a few moments, and then rose up and invited
them to walk out and see my plantation and herds.
When we reached the cattle, I, as by accident, or incidentally, asked
Caleb if he was prepared to give a feast to his distant friends who had
so lately and unexpectedly called upon him. Answering in the negative, I
told him to shoot down at once a fat young ox that was passing before
us, and, while some were dressing it, others to come to the house and
get some flour, peas, salt, etc., and go immediately back and feast his
friends, lest they form a very unfavorable opinion of us here. I need
not say that the summons was promptly obeyed, and Caleb the happiest man
in the world. Now the rigid muscles of the stranger chiefs began to
relax; in short, all distrust was soon lost, and, as they were about
leaving for Caleb's camp, they found themselves constrained to inform me
that they came over with very different feelings from what they were now
leaving us with, and were very glad they had listened to Caleb's advice,
and called upon me. Professing to be very much engaged at the moment, I
told them to go and dine, and at evening, or early the following
morning, I would come with my friend, Mr. Applegate, and make them a
call.
They feasted to the full, and I found them in fine humor, and in a
better condition to smoke than fight. After some casual conversation I
asked them how they would like to enter into the civil compact; and,
while they were discussing the subject, this Indian (Cockstock) came
first into my presence, well armed, and appeared cold and distant,
though I had no suspicion of his being the character who had so lately
broken to pieces the windows in my house and office.
They had no scruples in saying they were entirely willing, and should be
pleased on their part to enter upon the same terms, but did not know how
it might be regarded by the residue of their respective tribes. They
engaged to meet me on the 15th March, with the residue of their people,
and use their influence to bring about so desirable an object. The party
left the same day, apparently in a cheerful mood, passed over the
prairie singing, talking, and laughing merrily. As a part, however, were
passing their horses over a difficult stream, the other part fell upon
and massacred them in a most shocking manner, this villainous Cockstock
acting a conspicuous part in the bloody affray.
I repaired to the spot without delay, as the whites were much excited,
and wished to pursue and hang every one of them. I learned there had
been unsettled feuds of long standing, and that in like manner, ten
months previously, these unfortunate wretches had shot down a
fellow-traveler. On conveying this information to the citizens, all I
believe were satisfied to stay at home, and remain quiet for the
present.
Thus much for this Indian affair, which, my interpreter having arrived,
I have settled to-day with the Dalles Indians most satisfactorily. As
was to be expected, they wished presents for the death of their brother.
I prevailed on all to be seated, and then explained the whole case
slowly and clearly to their understanding. I told them we had lost two
valuable innocent men, and they but one; and should our people learn
that I had given them presents, without their giving me two blankets for
one, they must expect nothing but the hottest displeasure from the
whites. After much deliberation among themselves, they, with one voice,
concluded to leave the whole matter to my discretion.
I at once decided to give the poor Indian widow two blankets, a dress,
and handkerchief, believing the moral influence to be better than to
make presents to the chief or tribe, and to receive nothing at their
hands. To this proposition they most cheerfully consented, and have now
left, having asked for and obtained from me a written certificate,
stating that the matter had been amicably adjusted. It is to be hoped
that it will here end, though that is by no means certain, as at present
there are so many sources of uneasiness and discontent between the
parties.
As I said before, I believe it morally impossible for us to remain at
peace in Oregon, for any considerable time, without the protection of
vigorous civil or military law. For myself, I am most awkwardly
situated; so much so, indeed, that I had seriously anticipated leaving
this spring; but the late successful contest against the introduction of
ardent spirits, in connection with the excitement by reason of the
unhappy disaster at the falls of the Wallamet, together with the fact of
too many of our people being so extremely excitable on Indian and other
affairs relating to the peace and interest of the colony and country, I
have concluded to remain for the present, in hopes of being soon in some
way relieved. I hope the draft that I have this day drawn in favor of
John McLaughlin will be honored, as otherwise I may be thrown at once
into the greatest difficulties, having no other house in this country
where I can draw such articles as I require for necessary presents to
Indians, to defray traveling expenses, etc.
I have the honor to remain, with highest respect, your obedient humble
servant,
E. WHITE,
Sub-Agent Indian Affairs.
Hon. J. M. PORTER,
Secretary of War.
* * * * *
WALLAMET, March 22, 1844.
HONORED SIR,--The within accounts, as per voucher No. 1, drawn on the
Hudson's Bay House at Vancouver, are in part pay for interpreters and
necessary assistants in guarding and conducting me from point to point,
in my late unavoidable excursions during the excitement of the fall of
1842 and spring of 1843, and other necessary voyages since, together
with the presents in hoes, medicines, and clothes, to enable me to
secure and hold a sufficient influence over the aborigines to prevent
threatened invasions and serious evils to the colony and country.
Those upon Mr. Abernethy and Mr. A. E. Wilson are for like purposes;
drafts upon these houses being my principal means of paying expenses in
this country.
As I hire only when requisite, and dismiss at once when no longer
necessary, my interpreter's bills, including clerks and all assistants
for the different tribes, do not exceed $300 per annum up to the present
time; notwithstanding, at one time, for sixty days, I was under the
necessity of hiring two men at the rate of three dollars per day each.
Traveling expenses in 1842, three hundred and eighty dollars ($380). In
1843, three hundred and ninety-six dollars and fifty cents ($396.50). In
presents for the two years and two months, two hundred and ninety
dollars and seventy-five cents ($290.75); in medicines, hoes, and sundry
useful articles, to encourage them and strengthen my influence among
them, this being my only way to succeed to any considerable extent.
Presents become the more indispensable from the fact of the
long-continued and constant liberality of the Hudson's Bay Company
toward the Indians of this country.
Had all remained in as quiet a state as when the colony was small, and
no jealousies awakened, most of those small expenses might have been
avoided, but, unless a military post be at once established, or more
means put into my hands to meet their increasing wants, my expense will
be increased, and trouble multiply; but at this moment, were one
thousand dollars placed in my hands to lay out judiciously in medicines,
hoes, plows, blankets, and men, women, and children's clothes, to
distribute annually, more security would be effected, and good done to
the aborigines, than in ten times that amount expended in establishing
and keeping up a military post,--such is their desire and thirst after
the means to promote civilization.
As this voyaging is most destructive to my wardrobe, saying nothing of
the perils and hardships to which it exposes me, shall I be allowed the
sum usually allowed military officers, which Esquire Gilpin informs me
is ten dollars per each hundred miles? I will place it down and leave it
to your honorable consideration, not doubting, sir, but you will do what
is proper and right in the premises. I shall charge only for such
traveling as was unavoidable in the execution of my official business.
With highest respect, I am, dear sir,
Your humble and obedient servant,
ELIJAH WHITE,
Sub-Agent Indian Affairs, W. R. M.
Hon. J. M. PORTER,
Secretary of War, Washington, D. C.
* * * * *
WALLAMET, Nov. 23, 1843.
MY DEAR SIR,--As, in the order of Divine Providence, it appears to be my
duty to leave this country in a few days to return to the United States,
and, as I have had the pleasure of an acquaintance with all the
important transactions in which you have been engaged, in your official
capacity, since your arrival in this country in the fall of 1842, I
consider it a duty which I owe to yourself, to bear my unequivocal
testimony in favor of the course which you have generally pursued. Not
pretending to understand what properly belongs to the office of an
Indian agent, I flatter myself that I am capable of judging in reference
to those matters which are calculated to effect the elevation and
prosperity of the Indians, and the peace and security of those whites
who settle in the Indian country. As I can not speak particularly
concerning all your official acts in the country, permit me to refer to
one expedition, which I consider to have been the most important of any
in which you have been engaged, and in which I had the pleasure of being
associated with you. I mean that long and excessively toilsome journey
which you performed into the interior of this country early last spring.
The causes which prompted you to engage in the enterprise, in my humble
opinion, were the most justifiable. The whites in the country had been
thrown into a panic by information received from the missionaries in the
interior, that the Indians were forming a plan to effect the destruction
of the white population. It was everywhere observed that our Indian
agent should immediately repair to the infected region, and endeavor to
quell the tumult, "for (it was repeatedly remarked) it was better for
one man to expose his life than for the whole settlement to suffer."
Without delay the exposure was made. And though life was not taken, yet,
in accomplishing the object, you were compelled to pass through much
difficulty, excessive labor, and great danger. The plans proposed to
quiet the Indians, whom you found in a state of great excitement, were
doubtless conceived in wisdom, and produced the desired effect. The
expenses incurred were no more than were absolutely necessary. And I
doubt not, if the results of the expedition are correctly represented,
that our enlightened government will make an appropriation to cover all
the expenses which accrued in consequence of the undertaking.
With my most hearty and best wishes for your continued peace and
prosperity, permit me to subscribe myself, yours, with feelings of
unaltered friendship.
GUSTAVUS HINES,
Missionary of the M. E. Church.
Dr. ELIJAH WHITE,
Sub-Agent of Indian Affairs west of Rocky Mountains.
* * * * *
DEPARTMENT OF WAR,}
OFFICE OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, Nov. 24, 1845.}
* * * * *
Two interesting and very instructive reports have been received from the
sub-agent west of the Rocky Mountains. They present that country in a
new and important light to the consideration of the public.
The advancement in civilization by the numerous tribes of Indians in
that remote and hitherto neglected portion of our territory, with so
few advantages, is a matter of surprise. Indeed, the red men of that
region would almost seem to be of a different order from those with whom
we have been in more familiar intercourse. A few years since the face of
a white man was almost unknown to them; now, through the benevolent
policy of the various Christian churches, and the indefatigable
exertions of the missionaries in their employ, they have prescribed and
well adapted rules for their government, which are observed and
respected to a degree worthy the most intelligent whites.
Numerous schools have grown up in their midst, at which their children
are acquiring the most important and useful information. They have
already advanced to a degree of civilization that promises the most
beneficial results to them and their brethren on this side of the
mountains, with whom they may, and no doubt will at some future period,
be brought into intercourse. They are turning their attention to
agricultural pursuits, and with but few of the necessary utensils in
their possession, already produce sufficient in some places to meet
their every want.
Among some of the tribes, hunting has been almost entirely abandoned,
many individuals looking wholly to the soil for support. The lands are
represented as extremely fertile, and the climate healthy, agreeable,
and uniform.
Under these circumstances, so promising in their consequences, and
grateful to the feelings of the philanthropist, it would seem to be the
duty of the government of the United States to encourage their
advancement, and still further aid their progress in the path of
civilization. I therefore respectfully recommend the establishment among
them of a full agency, with power to the President to make it an acting
superintendency; and to appoint one or more sub-agents, whenever, in his
judgment, the same may become necessary and proper.
All which is respectfully submitted.
W. MEDILL.
Hon. WM. L. MARCY,
Secretary of War.
* * * * *
The reader will observe the clear statement of the United States Indian
policy in the above communication. That schools, farming, and
civilization are prominent. That the Indians, as the whole of this
report indicates, are rapidly improving under the instructions of the
missionaries in the interior,--Spalding and Whitman in particular. That
Dr. White, in this report, as contained in the previous chapter,
attempts to include Blanchet and associates as erecting mills, etc., for
the benefit of the Indians, while Spalding's and Whitman's stations
were the only places where mills had been erected.
These facts brought so prominently before the British and foreign mind
their sectarian and commercial jealousies; and national pride was so
excited that it knew no bounds and could not be satisfied short of the
effort that was made in 1847-8. Subsequent Indian wars were but the
spasmodic and dying action of the spirit that instigated the first.
It will also be observed that this report brings out the bold efforts of
our foreign emissaries to excite the Indians in the settlement, and to
disturb and divide the American population on the question of an
organization.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
First council to organize a provisional government.--Library
founded.--Origin of the Wolf Association.--The Methodist Mission
influence.--Dr. White exhibits his credentials.--First "wolf
meeting."--Proceedings of the second "wolf
meeting."--Officers.--Resolutions.--Bounties to be
paid.--Resolution to appoint a committee of twelve for the civil
and military protection of the settlement.--Names of the members of
the committee.
A consultation was held at the house of Gray to consider the expediency
of organizing a provisional government. In it the whole condition of the
settlement, the missions, and Hudson's Bay Company, were carefully
looked at, and all the influences combined against the organization of a
settlers' government were fully canvassed. The conclusion was that no
direct effort could succeed, as it had already been tried and failed,
from the combined influence of the Hudson's Bay Company and the Roman
Catholic and Methodist missions. To the writer, who up to this time had
not fully understood all the causes of the failure, it was doubtful. Two
plans were suggested; one, at least, might succeed. The first was to get
up a circulating library, and by that means draw attention and
discussion to subjects of interest to the settlement, and secure the
influence of the Methodist Mission, as education was a subject they had
commenced. We found no difficulty in the library movement from them,
only they seemed anxious to keep from the library a certain class of
light reading, which they appeared tenacious about. This was not a vital
point with the original movers, so they yielded it. The library
prospered finely; one hundred shares were taken at five dollars a share;
three hundred volumes of old books collected and placed in this
institution, which was called the "Multnomah Circulating Library;" one
hundred dollars were sent to New York for new books which arrived the
following year. Now for the main effort to secure another position.
It will be remembered that in the winter of 1836-7 the Wallamet Cattle
Company was formed. All the settlers that could raise the funds entered
heartily into the project, and such as had no means to advance money for
stock at the time had succeeded in buying from those that would sell.
Besides, part of the estate of Ewing Young had been sold and
distributed, and the Hudson's Bay Company had also organized the Puget
Sound Company, and had begun to distribute cattle; hence almost every
settler, the missions, the Hudson's Bay Company, and some Indians were
owning cattle.
The wolves, bears, and panthers were very destructive to the cattle of
all alike. Here was an object of sufficient interest to all, to bring a
united action, and collect a large number of the settlers. Accordingly,
a notice was given, requesting all interested in adopting some united
action to get rid of the wild beasts, that were destroying our domestic
animals, to meet at the house of W. H. Gray, on the 2d of February,
1843. This was the first move to the provisional government. While this
was being done in the valley, at Wallamet Falls, since Oregon City, the
question of a provisional government was up before a lyceum held at that
place and debated warmly for several evenings, and finally voted down.
Dr. John McLaughlin took the side of an independent government. Mr.
Abernethy, afterward governor, moved that, in case our government did
not extend its jurisdiction over the country in four years, that then
the meeting would be in favor of an independent government. This idea
was favored by Dr. White, upon condition that the settlers would vote
generally to elect him as their governor, as from the fact that he held
the office of sub-Indian agent by the appointment of the President, he
could officiate as governor, and it would be no additional expense to
the settlers. This was a plausible argument, and had Dr. White been a
man of moral principle and capable of understanding his duties in the
office he held, the settlers would without a doubt have adopted his
suggestions; but, unfortunately for him, they had lost all confidence in
his executive and judicial ability, as also in his ability to deal with
Indians. Besides, the leading members of the Methodist Mission were
opposed to him on account of his shameful course while one of their
number, though Mr. Hines seems to have held to his skirts during the
greater portion of the time he was creating all the disturbance he was
capable of among the Indians, and being the dupe of the Hudson's Bay
Company.
These facts were all known to the getters-up of the "Wolf Organization,"
as it was called. In fact, Le Breton had participated in the discussions
at the Wallamet Falls, and reported them to those of us in the valley.
Our idea was, to get an object before the people upon which all could
unite, and as we advanced, secure the main object,--_self-preservation,
both for property and person_.
The "wolf meeting" was fully attended, and all took a lively interest in
it, for there was not a man in the settlement that had not been a loser
from wild animals. There was a little suspicion in this first meeting
that more than protection for animals was meant.
Dr. Ira L. Babcock, who was elected our chairman, and who, we supposed,
would be the first to suspect the main object, seemed to discard the
idea as foolish and ridiculous, as he thought "we had all the protection
for our persons that we needed in the arrangements already entered into,
and the object for which the meeting was called was a good and laudable
one; we were all interested in it; we had all lost more or less from the
ravages of wild animals, and it became necessary to have a united effort
to get rid of them and protect our property." This was the very point we
wished to hold the doctor to. He had expressed the idea exactly, and
placed it in a clear light. As settlers, we had nothing to do but submit
to the rule of the Hudson's Bay Company, the missions, and Dr. White,
and do all we could to protect their cattle and herds.
The Oregon archives show that there were persons present who were
prepared for the occasion. The remarks of our chairman were appropriate,
for it was self-evident that our domestic animals needed protection; we
could not spend all our time to guard them, hence a united effort would
accomplish in a short time, and at comparatively little expense to all,
what would otherwise be impossible, scattered as our settlements were,
with our domestic animals exposed to the ravages of wild animals known
to be numerous all over the country. It was moved that a committee of
six be appointed to notify a general meeting, and prepare a plan, and
report the matter for the action of the settlers.
The chairman was called upon to appoint a committee to call a public
meeting. Gray, Beers, and Wilson, already known to the reader, and
Gervais and Lucie, Canadian-Frenchmen, who came to the country with
Wilson G. Hunt's party, and Barnaby, a French Rocky Mountain hunter,
were appointed.
These three men were the most intelligent and influential French
settlers that were then in the country, having considerable influence
with the Canadian-French settlers, and generally favored American
settlement and enterprise.
The preparation for the general meeting, which was moved by Alanson
Beers to be called at the house of Mr. Joseph Gervais on the first
Monday in March next, at ten o'clock A.M., devolved on Gray, Beers, and
Wilson. The giving of the notices, which Le Breton with his ready pen
soon prepared, devolved on Gervais, Barnaby, and Lucie. Up to this time,
no intimation of the proposed civil government had been given to any
member of the missions, or the Hudson's Bay Company. All was moving on
harmoniously, and all were interested in caring for and protecting our
domestic animals. The "wolf meeting," and what was to be done, was the
subject of general interest. Le Breton and Smith were busy in finding
out the men who could be relied upon, and the men that would oppose the
_one great object_ we had determined to accomplish, so that on the first
Monday in March, 1843, the settlement, _except the clergy_, were all
present. If my memory serves me, there was not in that meeting a single
reverend gentleman of any denomination. James A. O'Neil, who came to the
country with Captain Wyeth in 1834, and had remained in it, presided at
this meeting. He was informed of the main object, and requested to hurry
through the "wolf meeting" business as soon as possible.
It will be seen that we had placed before the settlement, the Hudson's
Bay Company, and both missions, an object they were deeply interested
in. The clergy were just then all asleep, and so were the company, for
while they were all willing that we should pay our money, spend our
time, and hunt wild animals to protect their by far the largest portion
of property exposed, they did not suspect we were looking to a far more
important object--our _personal liberty_; hence the settlers' "wolf
meeting" did not call for their attention, but they all gave it an
encouraging word, and promised to contribute to its funds, which they
did, till they saw the real object, when they dropped it without
ceremony, or at least saw too late that their power was gone.
The Methodist Mission influence was the most difficult to deal with. We
were fully aware of their large pretensions to land, and of the
consummate duplicity of White, in dealing with all parties. White, to
secure the approval of the Methodist Mission, encouraged their large
pretensions to mission lands, and also spoke favorably of the Jesuit
influence among the Indians; while, if he had had two grains of common
sense and common honesty, he could have seen their influence was tending
to destroy all of his, as well as all American influence in the country.
Still his supremely selfish ideas of self-honor and official dignity led
him to pursue a course disgusting to all parties.
During the time between the first and second "wolf meetings," White was
called upon in a public manner to exhibit his authority from the
President, which he was foolish enough to do. It was seen at once that
he was in the country _only as a spy upon the actions of the Hudson's
Bay Company_, while he assumed to make treaties with Indians, and govern
the country, and make pledges and promises, which no one believed the
government would ever attempt to fulfill.
As a matter of history and curiosity, the proceedings of the "wolf
meetings" are copied from the Oregon archives, which Mr. Hines, it
seems, did not even know had an existence, showing, by his own
statements, that he was so completely mixed up in his ideas of the
origin of the provisional government, that though he is generally
correct in his statements, yet he failed to distinguish the point of
conception and birth of the _oldest State on the Pacific_, for I
contend that justice to our effort and a proper understanding of our
rights should have admitted us as a State instead of subjecting us to a
Territorial _annoyance_, under such _demagogues_ as were sent among us
up to the time we became a State.
_Proceedings of a Meeting held at the Oregon Institute, February 2,
1843._
A public meeting of a number of the citizens of this colony was called
at the house of W. H. Gray, in order to take into consideration the
propriety of adopting some measures for the protection of our herds,
etc., in this country.
On motion, Dr. I. L. Babcock was called to the chair, who proceeded to
state the objects of the meeting, and the necessity of acting.
Mr. W. H. Gray moved, and Mr. Torn seconded the motion, "that a
committee of six be appointed to notify a general meeting, and report
business, etc.," which motion was carried, and Messrs. Gray, Beers,
Gervais, Wilson, Barnaby, and Lucie, were appointed said committee.
Mr. Beers moved "that a general meeting be called at the house of Mr.
Joseph Gervais, on the first Monday in March next, at ten o'clock,
A.M.," which motion was carried.
W. H. WILSON, Secretary.
I. L. BABCOCK, Chairman.
_Journal of a Meeting at the house of J. Gervais, first Monday in March,
1843._
In pursuance of a resolution of a previous meeting, the citizens of
Wallamet Valley met, and, the meeting being called to order, Mr. James
O'Neil was chosen chairman. Mr. Martin was chosen as secretary, but
declining to serve, Mr. Le Breton was chosen.
The minutes of the former meeting were read.
The committee appointed to notify a general meeting and report business,
made the following report, to wit:--
"Your committee beg leave to report as follows: It being admitted by
all that bears, wolves, panthers, etc., are destructive to the
useful animals owned by the settlers of this colony, your committee
would submit the following resolutions, as the sense of this
meeting, by which the community may be governed in carrying on a
defensive and destructive war against all such animals.
"_Resolved_, 1st. That we deem it expedient for this community to
take immediate measures for the destruction of all wolves, panthers,
and bears, and such other animals as are known to be destructive to
cattle, horses, sheep, and hogs.
"2d. That a treasurer be appointed, who shall receive all funds,
and dispense the same, in accordance with drafts drawn on him by
the committee appointed to receive the evidences of the destruction
of the above-named animals; and that he report the state of the
treasury, by posting up public notices, once in three months, in the
vicinity of each of the committee.
"3d. That a standing committee of eight be appointed, whose duty it
shall be, together with the treasurer, to receive the proofs, or
evidences, of the animals for which a bounty is claimed having been
killed in the Wallamet Valley.
"4th. That a bounty of fifty cents be paid for the destruction of a
small wolf; three dollars for a large wolf; one dollar and fifty
cents for a lynx; two dollars for a bear; and five dollars for a
panther.
"5th. That no bounty be paid unless the individual claiming said
bounty give satisfactory evidence, or present the skin of the head
with the ears of all animals for which he claims a bounty.
"6th. That the committee and treasurer form a Board of advice to
call public meetings, whenever they may deem it expedient, to
promote and encourage all persons to use their vigilance in
destroying all the animals named in the fourth resolution.
"7th. That the bounties specified in the fourth resolution be
limited to whites and their descendants.
"8th. That the proceedings of this meeting be signed by the chairman
and secretary, and a copy thereof be presented to the recorder of
this colony."
On motion, the report was accepted.
It was then moved and seconded that the report be laid on the table,
which was carried.
It was moved and seconded that the first resolution in the report of the
committee be adopted, which was carried.
It was moved and seconded the a sum be raised by contribution for the
protection of our animals, which was carried.
It was moved and seconded that the third resolution, as amended, be
adopted, which was carried.
It was moved and seconded that two collectors be appointed to receive
all subscriptions, retaining five per cent. for collecting the same, and
pay the amount over to the treasurer, taking his receipt for the same,
which was carried.
On motion, the fifth resolution was adopted.
On motion, it was resolved "that no one receive a bounty (except
Indians) unless he pay a subscription of five dollars."
On motion, the seventh resolution was adopted.
On motion, the eighth and ninth resolutions were adopted.
It was moved and seconded that the Indians receive one-half as much as
the whites.
It was moved and seconded that all claims for bounties be presented
within ten days from the time of becoming entitled to said bounties,
and, if there should be any doubts, the individual claiming a bounty
shall give his oath to the various circumstances; which was carried.
On motion, W. H. Gray was chosen treasurer.
It was moved that Messrs. McRoy, Gervais, Martin, S. Smith, Dougherty,
O'Neil, Shortess, and Lucie be the standing committee; which motion was
carried.
It was moved that G. W. Le Breton and Mr. Bridgers be the collectors.
Carried.
On motion, the following resolutions were adopted:--
"_Resolved_, That no money be paid to any white, or his descendants,
previous to the time of his subscription.
"_Resolved_, That the bounty of a minor child be paid to a parent or
guardian.
"_Resolved_, That the draft for receiving subscriptions be drawn by
Mr. Gray and Mr. Le Breton.
"_Resolved_, That drafts on Fort Vancouver, the Mission, and the
Milling Company be received on subscriptions, as payment."
* * * * *
As a kind Providence would have it, the "wolf meeting" at Mr. Gervais'
house on the Wallamet River was one of the most harmonious meetings I
ever attended. Every one seemed to feel that a unanimous war had been
declared against the despoilers of our domestic animals that were
dependent upon us for protection.
It was stated by one speaker "that no one would question for a moment
that this was right. This was just and natural protection for our
property in animals liable to be destroyed by wolves, bears, and
panthers. How is it, fellow-citizens, with you and me, and our children
and wives? Have we any organization upon which we can rely for mutual
protection? Is there any power or influence in the country sufficient to
protect us and all we hold dear on earth from the worse than wild beasts
that threaten and occasionally destroy our cattle? Who in our midst is
authorized at this moment to call us together to protect our own, and
the lives of our families? True, the alarm may be given, as in a recent
case, and we may run who feel alarmed, and shoot off our guns, while our
enemy may be robbing our property, ravishing our wives, and burning the
houses over our defenseless families. Common sense, prudence, and
justice to ourselves demand that we act consistent with the principles
we have commenced. We have mutually and unitedly agreed to defend and
protect our _cattle and domestic animals_; now, fellow-citizens, I
submit and move the adoption of the two following resolutions, that we
may have protection for our persons and lives as well as our cattle and
herds:--
"_Resolved_, That a committee be appointed to take into
consideration the propriety of taking measures for the civil and
military protection of this colony.
"_Resolved_, That said committee consist of twelve persons."
There was not a dissenting vote in that meeting. Drs. Babcock and White
were not present, but prudence and policy gave them both a place upon
the proposed committee of twelve, while we knew the feelings of the
balance of the committee.
Messrs. Dr. Babcock, Dr. White, O'Neil, Shortess, Newell, Lucie,
Gervais, Hubbard, McRoy, Gray, Smith, and Gay were appointed said
committee.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
First meeting of the committee of twelve.--All invited to
participate.--The Rev. J. Lee and Mr. Abernethy ridicule the
organization.--Mr. Lee tells a story.--Letter from Governor
Abernethy.--The main question at issue.--Drowning of Cornelius
Rogers and party.--Conduct of Dr. White.--Methodist
Mission.--Catholic boasts of conversions.
By mutual understanding the committee of twelve first met at Wallamet
Falls, about the middle of March, 1843. My impression is that Dr.
Babcock was not present with the committee, and that Dr. White was
chosen temporary chairman. G. W. Le Breton was secretary of the
committee. A motion was made and carried to invite the citizens of the
village to participate in the deliberations of the committee. Rev. Jason
Lee, Rev. Mr. Waller, Mr. Abernethy, R. Moore, in fact, nearly all the
prominent men of the place, were present, and participated in the
discussions.
We found Rev. Jason Lee and Mr. Abernethy disposed to ridicule the
proposed organization as foolish and unnecessary. Rev. Jason Lee in his
argument illustrated the folly of the effort, by telling us of a company
of militia gotten up somewhere in Canada. He said "the requisite notice
had been given, and all the people liable to military duty were present
on the day to elect the officers required for the company. When they had
elected all their officers, there was one private soldier left. 'Well,'
says the soldier, 'you may march me, you may drill me, you may face me
to the right, or to the left, or about face, just as much as you please,
but for mercy's sake don't divide me up into platoons.'"
Mr. Abernethy made a little attempt to ridicule the proposed
organization, in moving to amend the resolution recommending three
justices of the peace and three constables. We are now in receipt of an
explanation from the governor in reference to the question of an
independent government, as debated at the Lyceum, which we give
_verbatim_, as it places the governor with his own explanation on that
question, and I think gives us the correct statement of the case, and
shows his policy, which was, to defeat not only the proposition for an
independent government, but any effort for a provisional one, for at
least four years,--which were not only the views of Mr. Abernethy, but
those of Messrs. Lee, Leslie, Babcock, and Hines:--
PORTLAND, March 11, 1866.
DEAR SIR,--Allow me to correct one statement in your History of
Oregon in the _Gazette_ of 5th March. You speak of a debate in a
Lyceum, and say: "Mr. Abernethy moved that in case our government
did not extend its jurisdiction over the country in four years,
that then the meeting would be in favor of an independent
government." The facts are these: We had weekly meetings for
discussion. Mr. Hastings, Dr. McLaughlin's lawyer, offered a
resolution, "That it is expedient for the settlers on this coast to
establish an independent government." This subject was warmly
discussed, Mr. Abernethy being, with a few others, opposed to it.
At the close of the discussion the vote was taken and decided in
favor of an independent government. Mr. Abernethy then offered the
following: "_Resolved_, That if the United States extends its
jurisdiction over this country within four years, it will not be
expedient to form an independent government," as the subject for
the next discussion. This was warmly discussed, many who voted for
the first resolution saying if the United States government is
extended over us, it is all we want, and voted in the affirmative.
The resolution was carried, and destroyed the effect of the first
resolution.
You will see by this you have the thing all wrong.
Yours truly,
GEO. ABERNETHY.
P. S.--Dr. White, I think, was present; am not certain. This
independent government move was a prominent scheme of Dr.
McLaughlin.
The main question at issue before the committee at the Falls meeting was
the office of governor. Dr. Bailey was in the Sandwich Islands; nothing
was to be feared from him; but Dr. White was, to say the least, an
impudent candidate. I have been informed that Dr. Bailey, an Englishman,
came to that meeting February 18, 1841, with all his French voters
trained to vote for himself for governor, and that he nominated himself,
in opposition to Mr. Hines and Dr. Babcock, for that office, and
conducted himself in such a manner that it disgusted some, and was the
means of breaking up the proposed civil government, as what Americans
there were then in the country found they would be outnumbered by the
French and English (which was unquestionably the fact), and thus they
would be completely at the disposal of English rule.
Such being the case, much credit is due to the men who defeated that
effort, and I see no reason why Mr. Hines, in his account, and as an
actor in those meetings, should attempt to give a different impression,
and say that "the officers of the squadron were consulted, and were
found to be decidedly opposed to the scheme." (Page 421 of his book.)
This fact alone, and I have it from an actor and an eye-witness in the
meeting referred to, is, to say the least, strange and unaccountable on
the part of Mr. Hines. He either feared the influence of Bailey, or the
truth, which he withheld in the case, and leaves a wrong impression upon
the minds of his readers.
From the sickening, fawning, and contemptible course of Dr. White, the
committee at the Falls meeting were induced to yield the point of an
organization without an executive head, and by that means got a
unanimous vote to call a public meeting to organize a provisional
government at Champoeg, on the 2d of May, 1843. This was effort number
one of February and June, 1841, over again. Those of us who commenced
this move did not feel that we had gained much, still we hoped for the
best and prepared for the worst as well as the meeting at Champoeg on
the 2d of May, 1843.
We will let the provisional government rest till the 2d of May, 1843,
while we take a look over the whole country, and at the actors in it,
first stopping to drop a tear at the grave of our friends as we proceed.
On the 2d of February our best and most esteemed friend, Cornelius
Rogers, with whom we had spent years of the kindest confidence and
friendship, left our house for Oregon City, as his future residence and
home, with his young wife, the eldest daughter of Rev. David Leslie, and
her youngest sister. They took passage down the river with W. W.
Raymond, a man who came to the country with the re-enforcement of the
mission of 1839-40. He was at that time a member of the Methodist
Mission, in good standing. Dr. Elijah White and Esquire Crocker, of
Lansingville, Tompkins County, New York, were also in the canoe, one of
the largest of Chinook manufacturing. They arrived all safe at Canemah.
It was let down stern first by a line, around a point of rocks just
above the falls on the Oregon City side, since blasted away for a canal
and boat channel. In the eddy formed by the point of rock a large tree
had lodged, forming a convenient landing, and occupying a large portion
of the eddy water, so that it was necessary for the canoe to remain
close to the log for safety from the swift current. There were two
Indians to guide the canoe into this landing, one in the bow and one in
the stern. The one in the stern escaped by jumping from the canoe and
catching upon a piece of drift-wood on a rock just above the fall.
White, as the canoe came alongside of the log upon which all were to
land, being near the bow of the canoe, and not thinking, or perhaps
caring, for any one but himself, jumped upon the side of the canoe, and
with a spring, upon the log, before there was time for any one to secure
the bow of the canoe, to prevent it from swinging into the current. The
force of White's spring upon the canoe to reach the log threw it into
the current, which was too strong for Raymond and his Indians to hold,
and in a moment it darted into the middle of the channel, and the next
moment was plunged broadside over the falls, some twenty-five feet
perpendicular. The force of the current threw the canoe to the bottom of
the fall, right side up, but the under-swell threw it back to the sheet
of falling water, which filled and upset the canoe in an instant. All
that went over were lost. Raymond, who had attempted to hold the canoe,
came over the point of rocks (a difficult place) and found White upon
the log, and that he had made no effort to relieve the drowning party.
Mr. Hines, I see, gives a more favorable account of this transaction for
White. I think this the nearest correct, as Raymond gave the alarm, and
a boat was launched, and reached within ten feet of Mr. Rogers before he
sank to rise no more. His and Esquire Crocker's bodies were found and
interred. Those of Mrs. Rogers and her sister were never found. Rev. G.
Hines, W. H. Gray, and Robert Shortess, were appointed by Judge Babcock
to appraise the estate of Mr. Rogers, which was found to be worth about
$800, clear of all liabilities. His heirs at law resided in Utica, New
York. Rev. Harvey Clark was appointed administrator, discharging that
duty faithfully, and I think without compensation. None of the
appraisers received a dime for their services. There followed this
affliction a severe storm, and an unusually high flood in the Wallamet
River. The appraisers were detained several days on account of it, but
finally reached their homes in safety.
The Methodist Mission had extended their stations to Fort Nasqualla on
Puget Sound and Clatsop Plains, and made an effort to establish a
mission station on the Umpqua River. At this last-named place the
Indians had been prepared by the instructions they had received through
the Hudson's Bay Company and the Jesuit priests to destroy Lee and
Hines, and commence the slaughter of the settlement. (See Hines' account
of the trip, pages 100 to 110 inclusive, made in 1842.)
Messrs. Frost and Cowan had become disgusted with their missionary
calling, and Rev. Dr. Richmond had also found his Nasqualla location not
a suitable one, or at least, he by some means had become convinced that
he could not benefit the Indians about the fort, and made up his mind to
leave.
It will be remembered that Vicar-General Brouillet, of Wallawalla, in
his attempt to prove that the "Catholic stations and stationary priests"
were early in the country, says "almost every Indian tribe possessed
some Catholic members" as early as 1840, and that Mr. Demerse's labors
among the Cayuses in 1840 "had made there a mission so fruitful that
the Protestant missionaries had got alarmed and feared that all their
disciples would abandon them if he continued his mission among them."
(Page 87 of "Protestantism in Oregon," by Brouillet.) Neither Hines,
Richmond, nor Smith could understand why it was that the Indians upon
this coast and throughout the country were so different from the
accounts they had heard and read of them up to 1840. In June, 1853, had
either of those gentlemen picked up the New York _Freeman's Journal_,
they would have seen the statement that, as early as 1840, "almost every
Indian tribe [on this coast] possessed some Catholic members." A little
further along they would have been startled with the announcement, that
these Jesuit missions had become "so fruitful that the Protestant
missionaries had got alarmed and feared that all their disciples would
abandon them." This was but the work of two years,--from 1838, late in
the fall, to 1840. This was, without doubt, a great triumph, and well
does this Jesuit blow his trumpet; and well he may, for he had the
active aid of an unscrupulous monopoly who are said to be attempting the
same thing with just such implements upon their own countrymen in
British Columbia. Why, I ask, have states and countries in Europe found
it necessary to suppress that order of the Roman Church? And why is
England, to-day, hesitating to give this church in particular the same
confidence she does to all others?
CHAPTER XXXV.
Meetings to oppose organization.--Address of the
French-Canadians.--Criticisms on it by the author.--The
Jesuits.--Jesuit oath.--Article from the Cincinnati _Beacon_.
Between the meeting of the committee of twelve at Wallamet Falls, about
the 16th of March, and the called meeting by that committee on the 2d of
May, the priests and the Hudson's Bay Company were not idle. They held
two distinct meetings, one at the falls and one at Vancouver, and two in
the French Prairie at the Catholic church. At all of these meetings the
course to be pursued by the company and the Catholic and French settlers
was discussed and decided. The result of these meetings and discussions
can be found on the 12th and 13th pages of the Oregon archives. The
names of the signers should have been given. This document seems to be
dated the 4th of March, 1843. The meeting at Gervais' was on the first
Monday of March. So this document seems to have been prepared by our
Jesuit Blanchet, just about the time the "wolf meeting" was convening,
and in anticipation of the move for a provisional government. I am
certain it was not before any public meeting of the settlers, and that
it was handed in to the committee of three appointed by the Legislative
Committee to revise and arrange the laws for the meeting on the 5th of
July, 1843.
G. W. Le Breton, clerk of the Legislative Committee, handed it in, when
it was examined by the committee of three, and handed back to him with
the remark "it was well enough to keep it with the public papers, as it
would show the influences operating, and who were opposed to our
organization, and the reasons they had for their opposition. At the
meeting of May 2, all the signers of that document were present with
their priests at their head, and voted to a man against the proposed
organization.
"Address of the Canadian citizens of Oregon to the meeting at Champoeg,
March 4, 1843," It will be seen it should have been dated May 2. This
mistake simply shows that it was prepared March 4, 1843, in anticipation
of the action of the meeting to be held May 2, 1843.
The address above referred to is here submitted as a matter of history,
and is as follows:--
"We, the Canadian citizens of Wallamet, considering with interest
and reflection the subject which unites the people at the present
meeting, present to the American citizens, and particularly to the
gentlemen who called said meeting, the unanimous expression of our
sentiments of cordiality, and desire of union and inexhaustible
peace between all the people, in view of our duty and the interest
of the new colony, and declare--
"1st. That we wish for laws, or regulations, for the welfare of our
persons, and the security of our property and labors.
"2d. That we do not intend to rebel against the measures of that
kind taken last year, by a party of the people; although we do not
approve of certain regulations, nor certain modes of laws, let those
magistrates finish their time.
"3d. That we will not address a new petition to the government of
the United States, because we have our reasons, till the line be
decided, and the frontiers of the States fixed.
"4th. That we are opposed to the regulations anticipated, and
exposed to consequences for the quantity, direction, etc., of lands,
and whatsoever expense for the same lands, because we have no direct
guaranty from the government to come, and, perhaps, to-morrow, all
those measures may be broken.
"5th. That we do not wish a provisional mode of government, too
self-interested, and full of degrees, useless to our power, and
overloading the colony instead of improving it; besides, men of laws
and science are too scarce, and have too much to do in such a new
country.
"6th. That we wish either the mode of senate or council to judge the
difficulties, punish the crimes (except capital penalties), and make
the regulations suitable for the people.
"7th. That the same council be elected and composed of members from
all parts of the country, and should act in body, on the plan of
civilized countries in parliament, or as a jury, and to be
represented, for example, by the president of said council, and
another member, as a judge of peace, in each county, allowing the
principle of recalling to the whole senate.
"8th. That the members should be influenced to interest themselves
to their own welfare, and that of the public, by the love of doing
good, rather than by the hope of gain, in order to take off from the
esteem of the people all suspicions of interest in the persons of
their representatives.
"9th. That they must avoid every law loading and inexpedient to the
people, especially to the new arrivals. Unnecessary taxes, and
whatever records are of that kind, we do not want them.
"10th. That the militia is useless at present, and rather a danger
of bad suspicion to the Indians and a delay for the necessary
labors; at the same time, it is a load; we do not want it, either,
at present.
"11th. That we consider the country free, at present, to all
nations, till government shall have decided; open to every
individual wishing to settle, without any distinction of origin, and
without asking him any thing, either to become an English, Spanish,
or American citizen.
"12th. So we, English subjects, proclaim to be free, as well as
those who came from France, California, United States, or even
natives of this country; and we desire unison with all the
respectable citizens who wish to settle in this country; or we ask
to be recognized as free among ourselves, to make such regulations
as appear suitable to our wants, save the general interest of having
justice from all strangers who might injure us, and that our
reasonable customs and pretensions be respected.
"13th. That we are willing to submit to any lawful government when
it comes.
"14th. That we do not forgot that we must make laws only for
necessary circumstances. The more laws there are, the more
opportunities for roguery for those who make a practice of it; and,
perhaps, the more alterations there will be some day.
"15th. That we do not forget in a trial that before all fraud on
fulfilling of some points of the law, the ordinary proofs of the
certainty of the fact ought to be duly weighed, so that justice may
be done, and no shame given for fraud.
"16th. In a new country the more men employed and paid by the
public, the less remains of industry.
"17th. That no one can be more desirous than we are for the
prosperity, ameliorations, and general peace of the country, and
especially for the guaranty of our rights and liberties; and such is
the wish we make for all those who are, or may become, our
fellow-countrymen, etc., for long years of peace."
Then follow our names and persons.
Which, if our memory is correct, were not given or signed to the
original document, for, if they had been, the document would have been
noticed in the legislative proceedings, and some action taken upon it.
It was considered by the revising committee, as an expression of the
feelings of the subjects named in the twelfth paragraph, and that while
they were opposed to the proposed organization they would act as per
thirteenth paragraph. The second paragraph indicates an approval of
previous political action. The third, their opposition to a connection
with the United States. The fourth, their decided opposition to the
proposed government. The fifth is a reason, and shows that they had no
confidence in the ability of the people to make laws for themselves.
The sixth indicates a preference for the Hudson's Bay Company's mode of
government. The seventh shows a leaning to republican ideas of
government. The eighth to the government of the country by the clergymen
in it. The ninth, opposition to taxes which the French, or the class
represented in that protest, continually manifested in refusing to pay
until compelled by legal or superior force. The tenth shows that they
considered themselves safe from Indian hostility, and were only anxious
to expose the weakness of the settlement by avoiding a show of military
strength. The eleventh affirms the freedom of the country to all, and
their right to occupy it without interference. The fourteenth, a
childish reason against restraint. The fifteenth is considerably mixed;
it is advisory. We admit that the object of it is beyond our
comprehension. The sixteenth looks to one man, or clerical rule. The
seventeenth shows the ecclesiastical origin of the document, and a
suspicion that in the future their conduct may be such that they may
require a "guaranty" of their rights and liberties.
We have an article, published in the Cincinnati _Beacon_, August, 1843,
giving the oath taken by the Jesuits, and a short account of their
objects and proceedings, which, as they had been introduced into Oregon
by the Hudson's Bay Company in 1838, and commenced their operations as
in the above document, we will copy the article entire, as we shall have
occasion to speak of the part taken by them in the settlement of this
country:--
"The order of Jesuits was established by Loyola in 1535, having for its
object the re-establishment of the pope's sway over the civil powers of
the earth.
"At that time it was found that a mighty effort was needed to regain to
the pope what he had just lost by the Reformation, and this order was
established for that object. Members of that society may be of any
profession or of no profession, as they choose, and as best suits the
object. They may prosecute their own business as merchants in foreign
countries, or serve in the meanest capacity, provided they can by
stealth exercise some destructive influence on any or every form of
government except that under the 'sacred confirmation of the pope.'
"A dispensation is granted them, _i.e._, permission to lay aside all
professions of regard to the Papal cause, and make outward professions
to any religion or government they choose, if by so doing they can
better 'do their utmost to EXTIRPATE _the heretical Protestant doctrine,
and destroy all its pretended powers_, REGAL _or otherwise_.'
"Of course they were soon found in all the political intrigues which so
long distracted Europe. This is a prominent fact on the page of history.
One after another of the European powers became aware of this, and
each, especially of the Protestant powers, when their intrigues could no
longer be endured, banished the Jesuits as seen above. We may add Oregon
as another special field of their operations since 1838.
"The Jesuits are the most active and efficient agents of Popery in
propagating the Catholic religion in foreign countries. In the following
oath we notice:--
"1. An acknowledgment that Protestant governments are illegal, without
the 'sacred confirmation' of the pope, and may safely be destroyed.
"2. A renunciation of 'any allegiance as due to any heretical' state,
named Protestants.
"3. A solemn pledge to do their utmost to 'destroy all their pretended
powers, regal or otherwise.'
"Comment on the relations which these agents of the pope sustain to our
Protestant government is needless.
"_The Oath of Secrecy of the Jesuits._
"'I, A. B., now in the presence of Almighty God, the blessed Virgin
Mary, the blessed Michael the Archangel, the blessed St. John Baptist,
the holy apostles St. Peter and St. Paul, and the saints and sacred
hosts of heaven, and of you my ghostly father, do declare from my heart,
_without mental reservation_, that his holiness the Pope Urban is
Christ's vicar-general, and is the true and only head of the Catholic or
Universal Church throughout the earth; and that, by the virtue of the
keys of binding and loosing given to his holiness by my Saviour Jesus
Christ, he hath power to depose heretical kings, princes, states,
commonwealths, and governments, all being illegal without his sacred
confirmation, and that they may safely be destroyed; therefore, to the
utmost of my power, I shall and will defend this doctrine, and his
holiness' rights and customs, against all usurpers of the heretical (or
Protestant) authority whatsoever; especially against the now pretended
authority and Church of England, and all adherents, in regard that they
and she be usurpal and heretical, opposing the sacred mother church of
Rome. I do renounce and disown any allegiance as due to any heretical
king, prince, or _state_, named Protestant, or _obedience to any of
their inferior magistrates or officers_. I do further declare, that the
doctrine of the Church of England, of the Calvinists, Huguenots, and of
others of the name of Protestant, to be damnable, and they themselves
are damned, and to be damned, that will not forsake the same; I do
further declare, that I will help, assist, and advise all or any of his
holiness' agents in any place wherever I shall be, in England, Scotland,
and Ireland, or in any other territory or kingdom I shall come to, and
do my utmost to extirpate the heretical Protestant doctrine, _and to
destroy all its pretended powers, regal or otherwise_. I do further
promise and declare, that notwithstanding I am dispensed with, to assume
any religion heretical, for the propagating of the mother church's
interests, to keep secret and private all her agents' counsels from time
to time, as they intrust me, and not to divulge, directly or indirectly,
by word, writing, or circumstance whatsoever; but to execute all that
shall be proposed, given in charge, or discovered unto me, by you, my
ghostly father, or any of this sacred convent. All which I, A. B., do
swear, by the blessed Trinity, and blessed Sacrament, which I am now to
receive, to perform, and on my part to keep inviolably: and do call all
the heavenly and glorious host of heaven to witness these my real
intentions, to keep this my oath. In testimony hereof, I take this most
holy and blessed sacrament of the Eucharist; and witness the same
further with my hand and seal, in the face of this holy convent, this
day of Anno Domini, etc.'
"The Jesuits were banished from England in 1606. They were expelled from
France, A.D. 1764; from Spain and Sicily, A.D. 1767; from Portugal, A.D.
1789; and totally suppressed by Pope Clement XIV., A.D. 1773. Everywhere
they were prosecuted and repelled as injurious to youth, and dangerous
to all existing forms of government. The present pope has revived the
order, and now we find the Jesuits secretly and openly engaged again in
their pernicious and wicked devices to re-establish his power in the
United States, and in the Canadas."
CHAPTER XXXVI.
The meeting at Champoeg.--Tactics of the Jesuit
party.--Counter-tactics of the Americans.--A division and its
result.--Public record.--Opposition to clergymen as
legislators.--Mr. Hines as an historian.--His errors.--Importance
of Mr. Hines' history.--Extract.--Difficulty among the
Indians.--Cause of the difficulty.
The 2d of May, the day fixed by the committee of twelve to organize a
settlers' government, was close at hand. The Indians had all learned
that the "Bostons" were going to have a big meeting, and they also knew
that the English and French were going to meet with them, to oppose what
the "Bostons" were going to do. The Hudson's Bay Company had drilled and
trained their voters for the occasion, under the Rev. F. N. Blanchet and
his priests, and they were promptly on the ground in the open field near
a small house, and, to the amusement of every American present, trained
to vote "No" to every motion put; no matter, if to carry their point
they should have voted "Yes," it was "No." Le Breton had informed the
committee, and the Americans generally, that this would be the course
pursued, according to instructions, hence our motions were made to test
their knowledge of what they were doing, and we found just what we
expected was the case. The priest was not prepared for our manner of
meeting them, and, as the record shows, "considerable confusion was
existing in consequence." By this time we had counted votes. Says Le
Breton, "We can risk it; let us divide and count." "I second that
motion," says Gray. "Who's for a divide?" sang out old Joe Meek, as he
stepped out; "all for the report of the committee and an organization,
follow me." This was so sudden and unexpected that the priest and his
voters did not know what to do, but every American was soon in line. Le
Breton and Gray passed the line and counted fifty-two Americans, and but
fifty French and Hudson's Bay Company men. They announced the
count--"fifty-two for, and fifty against." "Three cheers for our side,"
sang out old Joe Meek. Not one of those old veteran mountain voices were
lacking in that shout for _liberty_. They were given with a will, and in
a few seconds the chairman, Judge I. L. Babcock, called the meeting to
order, when the priest and his band slunk away into the corners of the
fences, and in a short time mounted their horses and left.
The minutes of the meeting are as follows:--
"At a public meeting of the inhabitants of the Wallamet settlements,
held in accordance with the call of the committee, chosen at a former
meeting, for the purpose of taking steps to organize themselves into a
civil community, and provide themselves with the protection secured by
the enforcement of law and order, Dr. I. L. Babcock was chosen Chairman,
and Messrs. Gray, Le Breton, and Wilson, secretaries.
"The committee made their report, which was read, and a motion was made
that it be accepted, which was lost.
"Considerable confusion existing in consequence, it was moved by Mr. Le
Breton, and seconded by Mr. Gray, that the meeting divide, preparatory
to being counted; those in favor of the objects of this meeting taking
the right, and those of a contrary mind taking the left which being
carried by acclamation, and a majority being found in favor of
organization, the greater part of the dissenters withdrew.
"It was then moved and carried, that the report of the committee be
taken up and disposed of article by article.
"A motion was made and carried, that a supreme judge, with probate
powers, be chosen to officiate in this community.
"Moved and carried, that a clerk of the court, or recorder, be chosen.
"Moved and carried, that a sheriff be chosen.
"Moved and carried, that three magistrates be chosen.
"Moved and carried, that three constables be chosen.
"Moved and carried, that a committee of nine persons be chosen, for the
purpose of drafting a code of laws for the government of this community,
to be presented to a public meeting to be hereafter called by them, for
their acceptance.
"A motion was made and carried, that a treasurer be chosen.
"Moved and carried, that a major and three captains be chosen.
"Moved and carried, that we now proceed to choose the persons to fill
the various offices by ballot.
"A. E. Wilson was chosen to act as supreme judge, with probate powers;
G. W. Le Breton was chosen to act as clerk of court, and recorder; J. L.
Meek was chosen to fill the office of sheriff; W. H. Wilson was chosen
treasurer.
"Moved and carried, that the remainder of the officers be chosen by hand
ballot, and nomination from the floor.
"Messrs. Hill, Shortess, Newell, Beers, Hubbard, Gray, O'Neil, Moore,
and Dougherty, were chosen to act as Legislative Committee; Messrs.
Burns, Judson, and A. B. Smith were chosen to act as magistrates;
Messrs. Ebbets, Bridgers, and Lewis, were chosen to act as constables;
Mr. John Howard was chosen major; Messrs. Wm. McCarty, C. McRoy, and S.
Smith were chosen captains.
"Moved and carried, that the Legislative Committee make their report on
the 5th day of July next, at Champoeg.
"Moved and carried, that the services of the Legislative Committee be
paid for at $1.25 per day, and that the money be raised by subscription.
"Moved and carried, that the major and captains be instructed to enlist
men to form companies of mounted riflemen.
"Moved and carried, that an additional constable and magistrate be
chosen.
"Mr. Compo was chosen as an additional magistrate. Mr. Matthew was
chosen as an additional constable.
"Moved and carried, that the Legislative Committee shall not sit over
six days.
"The meeting was then adjourned.
"The question having arisen with regard to what time the newly-appointed
officers should commence their duties, the meeting was again called to
order, when it was moved and carried, that the old officers act till the
laws are made and accepted, or until the next public meeting.
"Attest,
"G. W. LE BRETON."
* * * * *
It will be remembered by those present, that in the appointment of the
members of the Legislative Committee, Rev. J. S. Griffin was named as
one of the committee. I am not positive that Mr. Griffin was present,
but I remember that his nomination was opposed, or any clergyman of any
denomination having any thing to do with making laws for the settlers.
It was stated as a reason, that their duties and calling were not such
as qualified them to enact laws adapted to a promiscuous community;
they, as a matter of conscience and duty to what they, as a general
thing, considered higher laws, disqualified themselves to enter the
halls of legislation as law-makers. Besides, the settlers had once
placed it in their hands and requested them to aid in the enactment of
suitable laws for the government and protection of the settlement. This
request they had neglected and refused to comply with, and we had before
us the example and influence of one who had openly opposed our effort.
In placing upon this committee a reverend gentleman from one
denomination, we, as a matter of courtesy, must do the same to another,
and, as in the former case, we would be liable to be defeated. Mr.
Griffin did not receive a single vote, without it was that of the Rev.
Mr. Kone, from Clatsop, who, I think, was present.
We will now leave the Legislative Committee to do their business, as
per instructions, and see what our very officious Indian agent and his
friend, Rev. Mr. Hines, are about.
During the fall of 1842 and winter and spring of 1843, "our plot
thickens." We must go back a little, and notice, among other things,
that as soon as Uncle Samuel's exploring squadron had looked at Oregon a
little and Dr. McLaughlin's good liquors more (when the infirmities of
the stomach required something stronger than water), and had found
occasion to express great praise of the kind treatment and generosity of
the Hudson's Bay Company, they also found it convenient to sanction the
opposition to a temporary government for the settlement,--at least, Mr.
Hines tells us they opposed it,--and leave the company to continue their
kicking and changing the bushel, calling in their cattle and pay for all
lost, and enter vigorously upon a settled system of opposition to all
American settlements in the country. Their Jesuit missions were doing
them good service in the interior. Their clerks and interpreters were
ready to do their part. The puff-ball of folly and ignorance, in the
shape of a sub-Indian agent, had been among the Indians, who were made
to believe from his foolish statements,--confirmed or made worse by such
old liars as Toupin, as in the case of Parker,--that the great parent
was going to make them wise and rich, and give them all they wanted, if
they would adopt his advice, and do as he wished them. All things
combined aroused Mr. Hines to the solemn conclusion that it was his duty
to volunteer and go with our sub-Indian agent, and assist him in
pacifying the Indians. I suppose he must have gone in the capacity of
prime minister or secretary of state. He says, page 146: "In the evening
of the 17th, Dr. White arrived at my house, bringing intelligence from
the falls." Le Breton returned the next day, and reported that
Anderson's horse was stolen by an Indian,--the same that had stolen one
from Mr. Hines two years before. Hines had the courage to go and get his
horse, but Anderson, who was a Swede, had not. This transaction, it will
be remembered, was on April 17, a month after the organizing committee
of twelve had been appointed at Gervais'. White and Hines are in council
at Hines' house. The visit to the interior tribes is before the council.
White had been up among the Nez Percés and Cayuses in the fall of 1842,
and with the aid of McKay (who was the most reliable half-native servant
the company ever had), the Indians were induced to form a combination,
exactly such a one as Frank Ermatinger, in 1838, told the writer the
company would form, with the aid of their half-breed servants, to resist
the occupancy of the country by the American government. Mr. Hines'
stupidity led him to believe this was the policy of White, and not that
of the company. He says, at the bottom of page 142:
"It had been the policy of the Hudson's Bay Company to destroy the
chieftainship, cut the different tribes into small clans, and divide
their interests as far as possible, so as to weaken them, and render
them incapable of injuring the whites, thus preventing them from
acting in concert." At the time this policy was adopted by the
company there were no whites in the country but themselves. Mr.
Hines believes that the American settlement was to be benefited by
this shrewd policy of the company, and attributes to Dr. White the
opposite policy. He says, page 143, that "the sub-agent adopted a
different policy."
How natural and how easy for his reverence to fall into this error, and
to say, on page 142, "Thomas McKay contributed much to allay the
excitement among them, and, in connection with the sub-agent, induced
the natives to adopt a code of laws and appoint a head chief, and
inferior chiefs, sufficient to carry the laws into execution." Not the
least suspicion of McKay's instructions and the Hudson's Bay Company's
arrangements and consent in the matter, and that the sub-agent was the
very man the company was making use of to get their own trained and
educated Indian (Ellis) at the head of the Nez Percé tribe, to
accomplish the object they had in view. Mr. Hines has given us a good
history, for which we thank him in behalf of truth, and also for the
assistance it has given us in showing to the world the damning policy,
the accursed influences brought to bear against the little band of
patriots that had the courage to contend against such fearful
combinations of avarice, stupidity, superstition, and savagism; and here
allow me to say, is the reason that Whitman, Harvey Clark, Shortess,
Smith, Cornelius Rogers, J. L. Meek, Couch, and fifty others, had no
confidence in White or his advisers and friends.
Le Breton acted well his part; the company knew him better than Mr.
Hines did; his death was a victory, as they supposed, to them, but the
effort moved on. The act of a few Indians, in going to St. Louis in
1832, for religious knowledge, brought Mr. Hines to the country with
others more capable of meeting the combined influences of avarice,
stupidity, bigotry, and superstition.
And although many things have combined to keep them from any pecuniary
reward, still facts, and the history of the country they have saved as
the golden gem of our great Republic, will seek to know who it was whose
efforts could successfully contend with such influences as were then
held by the company, the Jesuit priests, Dr. White, and the Methodist
Mission. We now know why our little settlement wept and mourned the
death of Rogers, Le Breton, and Whitman, as they were substantial
pillars in our temple of liberty on this coast. Does a simple slab mark
the place of their rest? Their surviving associates are not able to
answer in the affirmative.
It will be borne in mind that while Dr. Whitman was on his way to
Washington, Dr. White and Thomas McKay visited the Indians in the
interior, in October, 1842,--about one month after Dr. Whitman had left
for the States. Mr. Spalding was really more stupid than Mr. Hines in
all matters of policy and deep-laid plans to accomplish any object. His
courage was strong in ignorance of danger. Mr. Hines had personal
courage, but his self-esteem was unbounded. Dr. White was shrewd enough
to make use of both. Mr. Spalding was taken with Dr. White's smooth
milk-and-water false statements about his office, powers, and duties. He
was led to believe that White had all the powers he professed to have,
and lent his influence to McKay to organize and combine the Indian
tribes, supposing all the while he was doing it for Dr. White and the
American cause.
Messrs. Hines and Spalding were alike in this particular. The reader
will not forget that I am speaking of men and their actions, and the
influence they had at a certain time, and the effect of those actions
upon the Indians and the religious, political, and general interests of
the country. Personally, I have no malice against a single man of whom I
write; many of them I know are dead, and at the proper time I will give
you as faithful an account of their good deeds as I now do of their
errors. Besides, I hope the children and friends of all of whom I write,
will see and feel the virtue there is in doing right at all times, and,
as we are told, "try the spirits," or persons, "to know whether they are
good or evil."
A large portion of the ninth chapter of Mr. Hines' book is too important
in illustrating truth to be omitted in a history such as we are giving.
The reader will understand the observations we have to make, bearing in
mind that all these facts have an important bearing on a transaction
that occurred four years later. He says:--
"April 14. This settlement has been thrown into a panic by
intelligence which has just been received from the upper country,
concerning the hostile intentions of the Cayuse, Nez Percé, and
Wallawalla Indians. It appears that they have again threatened the
destruction of the whites. Some time in October last, Indian report
said that these tribes were coming down to kill off the 'Boston'
people, meaning those from the United States. This intelligence
produced considerable excitement at the time, and induced the
sub-agent of Indian affairs to go directly to the upper country and
ascertain the truth of the report, and, if possible, settle all
matters of difficulty. On arriving among the Indians, he ascertained
that the report was not without foundation, but entered into such
arrangements with them as appeared to give satisfaction. Thomas
McKay contributed much to allay the excitement among them, and, in
connection with the sub-agent, induced the Nez Percés to adopt a
code of laws, and appoint a head chief and inferior chiefs,
sufficient to carry the laws into execution.
"It had been the policy of the Hudson's Bay Company to destroy the
chieftainship, cut the different tribes into smaller clans, and
divide their interests as far as possible, so as to weaken them, and
render them incapable of injuring the whites, by preventing them
from acting in concert. BUT THE SUB-AGENT ADOPTED A DIFFERENT
POLICY. _The individual appointed to the high chieftainship over the
Nez Percés was one Ellis, as he was called by the English, who,
having spent several years in the settlement on Red River, east of
the mountains, had, with a smattering of the English language,
acquired a high sense of his own importance; and, consequently,
after he was appointed chief, pursued a very haughty and overbearing
course._ The fulfillment of the laws which the agent recommended for
their adoption was required by Ellis with the utmost rigor.
Individuals were severely punished for crimes which, from time
immemorial, had been committed by the people with impunity. This
occasioned suspicions in the minds of the Indians generally that the
whites designed the ultimate subjugation of their tribes. They saw
in the laws they had adopted, a deep-laid scheme of the whites to
destroy them, and take possession of their country. The arrival of a
large party of emigrants about this time, and the sudden departure
of Dr. Whitman to the United States, with the avowed intention of
bringing back with him as many as he could enlist for Oregon, served
to hasten them to the above conclusion. That a great excitement
existed among the Indians in the interior, and that they designed to
make war upon the settlement, was only known to the whites through
the medium of vague report, until a letter was received from H. K.
W. Perkins, at the Dalles, in which he informed us that the Wascopum
and Wallawalla Indians had communicated to him in substance the
following information: That the Indians are very much exasperated
against the whites, in consequence of so many of the latter coming
into the country, to destroy their game and take away their lands;
that the Nez Percés dispatched one of their chiefs last winter on
snow-shoes, to visit the Indians in the buffalo country east of Fort
Hall, for the purpose of exciting them to cut off the party that it
is expected Dr. Whitman will bring back with him to settle the Nez
Percé country; that the Indians are endeavoring to form a general
coalition for the purpose of destroying all the 'Boston' people;
that it is not good to kill a part of them, and leave the rest, but
that _every one_ of them must be destroyed. This information
produced a great excitement throughout the community, and almost
every man had a plan of his own by which to avert the impending
storm. In the estimation of some, the Indians were to be upon us
immediately, and it was unsafe to retire at night, for fear the
settlement would be attacked before morning. The plan of the agent
was to induce men to pledge themselves, under the forfeiture of one
hundred dollars in case of delinquency, to keep constantly on hand
and ready for use either a good musket or rifle, and one hundred
charges of ammunition, and to hold themselves in readiness to go at
the call of the agent to any part of the country, not to exceed two
days' travel for the purpose of defending the settlement, and
repelling any savage invaders. This plan pleased some of the people,
and they put down their names; but many were much dissatisfied with
it; and as we had no authority, no law, no order, for the time
being, in the country, it was impossible to tell what would be the
result, if the Indians should attempt to carry their threats into
execution."
We have before us, in these quotations, the facts of the change of
policy of the Hudson's Bay Company, the combining of the Nez Percé
tribe, the supposed ground of complaint against the Americans, and the
failure of the sub-Indian agent to get the settlers to adopt his plan
for protecting the settlement against the Indians. We will now give the
reasons the company had for adopting the dividing and cutting-up policy
among the Indians.
The reader is requested to observe Mr. Hines' description of Ellis, Dr.
White's Indian chief. It was this same Indian that drove the Rev. A. B.
Smith in 1840 from his land, as stated by old Toupin on 15th page of
Brouillet's history of the Whitman massacre. Up to this time he was not
considered an important character by the company, on account of his
self-importance and insolence. In this respect he resembled Tawatowe, of
the Cayuses, who, when he had been promoted to the head chieftainship of
that tribe, became insolent, and going so far as to get possession of
Fort Wallawalla, had tied Mr. P. C. Pambrun, and kept him tied till he
agreed to give the Indians better prices for their horses and furs. As
soon as they had liberated him, Mr. Pambrun made a few trades with them
and treated them kindly, and induced them to leave the fort. He sent at
once to Vancouver and increased the number of his men, and told the
chiefs that had had him tied, that he no longer regarded them as chiefs,
and at once commenced to destroy their influence by refusing to give
them the accustomed presents, and gave them to lesser chiefs, and in
that way divided them up and broke their power as principal chiefs.
While the American fur trader, Captain Wyeth, was in the country, the
company had increased their tariff, and paid the Indians more for their
horses and furs, but as soon as he had been driven from the country,
they reduced it to their own prices. The Indians did not understand why
the company gave them so much less than the Americans, or Bostons, did
for the same things.
The principal chiefs of the Nez Percés and Cayuses were together in the
attempt to get better pay for the property they sold to the company,
whose policy was to keep all the principal men down, and divide their
power and influence, and prevent any large combinations among the
tribes,--thus making it easy to control them. This statement of facts
and policy I had from Mr. Pambrun and Mr. Ermatinger, both of the
Hudson's Bay Company.
Mr. Hines, on page 143, in speaking about the laws adopted by the
Indians, seems altogether to ignore the fact that a desperate effort was
then being made by the Hudson's Bay Company, as the conduct of the
Indians plainly indicated, to drive all Americans from the country. The
unreasonable punishments inflicted, and all other odious inferences,
were the legitimate instruments to accomplish a specific object. The
same was the case in the inferences drawn about Dr. Whitman's visit to
the States. While Governor Simpson sends on his Red River settlers, and
goes to Washington to secure the country to the British crown, Dr.
Whitman and his mission become the special objects of misrepresentation
and hate among the Indians. His mill and all his grain are burned, while
a large immigration of British subjects and the Jesuit missionaries are
received with open arms. Dr. Whitman and the American settlement must be
stopped at all hazards. An Indian is sent on snow-shoes to the Buffalo
Indians east of Fort Hall, for the purpose of exciting them to cut off
the party that is expected with Dr. Whitman.
The American government, according to Dr. White, is about to take
possession of the country, and had sent him out as its first governor.
He, to conciliate the Indians, adopts all the suggestions of the
Hudson's Bay Company, and succeeds to his entire satisfaction, with the
aid of Mr. McKay. While he can do nothing to unite the settlers for
their own defense, the divide-and-weaken policy of the company is
changed from Indians to the American settlers. White and Hines are
equally useful to the company in doing the one, as they had been
successful in the other. That the transaction related by Mr. Hines on
his 145th page, under date of April 17, may be better understood, we
will, in the next chapter, give a copy of the petition referred to. This
document is mostly the work of Robert Shortess, and was signed by nearly
every American in the country who had an opportunity.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
Whitman's visit to Washington.--A priest's boast.--A taunt, and
Whitman's reply.--Arrival in Washington.--Interview with Secretary
Webster.--With President Tyler.--His return.--Successful passage of
the Rocky Mountains with two hundred wagons.--His mill burned
during his absence.
In September, 1842, Dr. Whitman was called to visit a patient at old
Fort Wallawalla. While there, a number of boats of the Hudson's Bay
Company, with several chief traders and Jesuit priests, on their way to
the interior of the country, arrived. While at dinner, the overland
express from Canada arrived, bringing news that the emigration from the
Red River settlement was at Colville. This news excited unusual joy
among the guests. One of them--a young priest--sang out: "Hurrah for
Oregon, America is too late; we have got the country." "Now the
Americans may whistle; the country is ours!" said another.
Whitman learned that the company had arranged for these Red River
English settlers to come on to settle in Oregon, and at the same time
Governor Simpson was to go to Washington and secure the settlement of
the question as to the boundaries on the ground of the most numerous and
permanent settlement in the country.
The Doctor was taunted with the idea that no power could prevent this
result, as no information could reach Washington in time to prevent it.
"It shall be prevented," said the Doctor, "if I have to go to Washington
myself." "But you can not go there to do it," was the taunting reply of
the Briton. "I will see," was the Doctor's reply. The reader is
sufficiently acquainted with the history of this man's toil and labor in
bringing his first wagon through to Fort Boise, to understand what he
meant when he said, "_I will see_." Two hours after this conversation at
the fort, he dismounted from his horse at his door at Wailatpu. I saw in
a moment that he was fixed on some important object or errand. He soon
explained that a special effort must be made to save the country from
becoming British territory.
Every thing was in the best of order about the station, and there seemed
to be no important reason why he should not go. A. L. Lovejoy, Esq., had
a few days before arrived with the immigration. It was proposed that he
should accompany the Doctor, which he consented to do, and in
twenty-four hours' time they were well mounted and on their way to the
States. They reached Fort Hall all safe; kept south into Taos, and
thence to Bent's Fort, on the Arkansas River, when Mr. Lovejoy became
exhausted from toil and exposure, and stopped for the winter, while the
Doctor continued on and reached Washington.
Thus far in this narrative I give Dr. Whitman's, Mr. Lovejoy's, and my
own knowledge. I find an article in the _Pacific_ of November 9, from
Mr. Spalding, which gives us the result:--
"On reaching the settlements, Dr. Whitman found that many of the now
old Oregonians--Waldo, Applegate, Hamtree, Keizer, and others--who
had once made calculations to come to Oregon, had abandoned the idea
because of the representations from Washington that every attempt to
take wagons and ox-teams through the Rocky and Blue Mountains to the
Columbia had failed. Dr. Whitman saw at once what the stopping of
wagons at Fort Hall every year meant. The representations purported
to come from Secretary Webster, but were from Governor Simpson, who,
magnifying the statements of his chief trader, Grant, at Fort Hall,
declared the Americans must be going mad, from their repeated
fruitless attempts to take wagons and teams through the impassable
regions to the Columbia, and that the women and children of those
wild fanatics had been saved from a terrible death only by the
repeated and philanthropic labors of Mr. Grant, at Fort Hall, in
furnishing them with horses. The Doctor told these men, as he met
them, that his only object in crossing the mountains in the dead of
winter, at the risk of his life, and through untold sufferings, was
to take back an American emigration that summer through the
mountains to the Columbia, with their wagons and their teams. The
route was practicable. We had taken our wagon, our cattle, and our
families through, seven years before. They had nothing to fear; but
to be ready on his return. The stopping of wagons at Fort Hall was a
Hudson's Bay Company scheme to prevent the settling of the country
by the Americans, till they could settle it with their own subjects
from the Selkirk settlement. This news spread like wildfire through
Missouri. The Doctor pushed on to Washington and immediately sought
an interview with Secretary Webster,--both being from the same
State,--and stated to him the object of his crossing the mountains,
and laid before him the great importance of Oregon to the United
States. But Mr. Webster lived too near Cape Cod to see things in the
same light with his fellow-Statesman who had transferred his worldly
interests to the Pacific coast. He awarded sincerity to the
missionary, but could not admit for a moment that the short
residence of six years could give the Doctor the knowledge of the
country possessed by Governor Simpson, who had almost grown up in
the country, and had traveled every part of it, and represents it as
one unbroken waste of sand deserts and impassable mountains, fit
only for the beaver, the gray bear, and the savage. Besides, he had
about traded it off with Governor Simpson, to go into the Ashburton
treaty, for a cod-fishery on Newfoundland.
"The Doctor next sought an interview with President Tyler, who at
once appreciated his solicitude and his timely representations of
Oregon, and especially his disinterested though hazardous
undertaking to cross the Rocky Mountains in the winter to take back
a caravan of wagons. He said that, although the Doctor's
representations of the character of the country, and the possibility
of reaching it by a wagon route, were in direct contradiction to
those of Governor Simpson, his frozen limbs were sufficient proof of
his sincerity, and his missionary character was sufficient guaranty
for his honesty, and he would therefore, as President, rest upon
these and act accordingly; would detail Fremont with a military
force to escort the Doctor's caravan through the mountains; and no
more action should be had toward trading off Oregon till he could
hear the result of the expedition. If the Doctor could establish a
wagon route through the mountains to the Columbia River, pronounced
impossible by Governors Simpson and Ashburton, he would use his
influence to hold on to Oregon. The great desire of the Doctor's
American soul, and Christian withal, that is, the pledge of the
President that the swapping of Oregon with England for a cod-fishery
should stop for the present, was attained, although at the risk of
life, and through great sufferings, and unsolicited, and without the
promise or expectation of a dollar's reward from any source. And
now, God giving him life and strength, he would do the rest; that
is, connect the Missouri and Columbia rivers with a wagon-track so
deep and plain that neither national envy nor sectional fanaticism
would ever blot it out[10]. And when the 5th of September, 1843, saw
the rear of the Doctor's caravan of nearly two hundred wagons, with
which he started from Missouri last of April, emerge from the
western shades of the Blue Mountains upon the plains of the
Columbia, the greatest work ever accomplished by one man for Oregon
was finished. And through that great emigration during that whole
summer, the Doctor was their everywhere-present angel of mercy,
ministering to the sick, helping the weary, encouraging the
wavering, cheering the mothers, mending wagons, setting broken
bones, hunting stray oxen, climbing precipices; now in the rear, now
at the front; in the rivers, looking out fords through the
quicksands; in the deserts, looking out for water; in the dark
mountains, looking out passes; at noontide or midnight, as though
those thousands were his own children, and those wagons and flocks
were his own property. Although he asked not, nor expected, a dollar
as a reward from any source, he felt himself abundantly rewarded
when he saw the desire of his heart accomplished, the great wagon
route over the mountains established, and Oregon in a fair way to be
occupied with American settlements and American commerce. And
especially he felt himself doubly paid, when, at the end of his
successful expedition, and standing alive at his home again on the
banks of the Wallawalla, these hundreds of his fellow summer
pilgrims, way-worn and sunbrowned, took him by the hand and thanked
him with tears for what he had done.
"During the Doctor's absence, his flour mill, with a quantity of
grain, had been burned, and, consequently, he found but a small
supply at his station on his return, raised by Mr. Geiger, a young
man. But what he had in the way of grain, garden vegetables, and
cattle, he gladly furnished the needy immigrants at the very low
figure of the Wallamet prices, which was six hundred per cent. lower
than what they had been compelled to pay at Forts Hall and Boise,
and one half lower than they are to-day in the same country. And
this was his practice every year till himself and wife and fourteen
immigrants were murdered in the fall of 1847, because, as
Vicar-General Brouillet says, 'they were American citizens', and
not, as I am bold to say and can prove, because he was a physician.
Shame on the American that will intimate such a thing! This
vicar-general of the Papal hosts on this coast does not thank you
for such an excuse. He tells you plainly it was to break up the
American settlements on this coast.
"Often the good Doctor would let every bushel of his grain go to the
passing immigrants in the fall, and then would have to depend upon
me for breadstuffs for the winter and the whole year till next
harvest, for his own large family and the scores of immigrants who
every year were obliged to stop at his station on account of
sickness or give-out teams. Although the Doctor had done so much for
his country, it seems his blood was necessary to arouse the
government to take formal possession of this coast, as it was his
death by savages that sent the devoted J. L. Meek over the mountains
to Washington, in the spring of 1848, to beg the government, in
behalf of the citizens of this coast, to send us help, and to extend
its jurisdiction over us."
[Footnote 10] They reached Fort Hall in safety, but there, in
the absence of Dr. Whitman from their camp, they were told by
Captain Grant, in the interest of the Hudson's Bay Company,
as others had been told before, that it was idle for wagons
to attempt to reach the Columbia. For a time there was a
heaviness of spirit among those families, which, like the
Israelites of old, had penetrated the depths of the "great
and terrible wilderness." But Dr. Whitman, on ascertaining
what had happened, reassured them by his bold and manly
words, saying to them, "My countrymen! you have trusted me
thus far; believe me now, and I will take your wagons to
Columbia River;" and he did so, and Oregon was saved by his
patriotism to the Union.
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
Petition of the citizens of Oregon in 1843.--Complaints against the
Hudson's Bay Company.--The Milling Company.--Kicking the
half-bushel.--Land claims of Dr. McLaughlin.--Names of the
signers.--Reasons for not signing.--Notice, deed, and bond of John
McLaughlin.--Claim of Alvin F. Waller.
_Petition of Citizens of Oregon in 1843._
To the Honorable the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled:--
We, the undersigned, settlers south of the Columbia River, beg leave
respectfully to represent to your honorable body:
As has been before represented to your honorable body, we consider
ourselves citizens of the United States, and acknowledge the right of
the United States to extend its jurisdiction over us; and the object of
the present memorial is to ask that the protection of the United States
may be extended to us as soon as possible. Hitherto, our numbers have
been small, and the few difficulties that arose in the settlement were
speedily and satisfactorily settled. But, as our settlement increases in
numbers, so our difficulties increase in number and importance; and,
unless we can have laws to govern us that will be respected and obeyed,
our situation will be a deplorable one. Where the highest court of
appeal is the rifle, safety in life and property can not be depended on.
The state of the country, its climate, resources, soil, productions,
etc., has already been laid before your honorable body, in Captain
Wyeth's memoir, and in former memorials from the inhabitants of this
place.
Laws are made to protect the weak against the mighty, and we feel the
necessity of them in the steps that are constantly taken by the
Honorable Hudson's Bay Company, in their opposition to the improvement
and enterprise of American citizens. You have been apprised already of
their opposition to Captain Wyeth, Bonneville, and others; and we find
that the same spirit dwells with them at the present day. Some years
ago, when the Hudson's Bay Company owned all the cattle in Oregon, they
would not sell on any conditions; but they would lend their cows to the
settler--he returning to the company the cows loaned, with all the
increase; and in case of the death of a cow, he then had the privilege
of paying for it. But after the settlers, at great risk and expense,
went to California and purchased for themselves, and there was a fair
prospect of the settlement being supplied, then the Hudson's Bay Company
were willing to sell, and at lower rates than the settlers could sell.
In the year 1842, feeling the necessity of having mills erected that
could supply the settlement with flour and lumber, a number of the
inhabitants formed themselves into a joint-stock company, for the
purpose of supplying the growing wants of the community. Many of the
farmers were obliged to leave their farms on the Wallamet, and go six
miles above Vancouver, on the Columbia River, making the whole distance
about sixty miles, to get their wheat ground, at a great loss of time
and expense. The company was formed and proceeded to select a site. They
selected an island at the falls of the Wallamet, and concluded to
commence their operations. After commencing, they were informed by Dr.
McLaughlin, who is at the head of the Hudson's Bay Company's affairs
west of the Rocky Mountains, that the land was his, and that he
(although a chief factor of the Hudson's Bay Company) claimed all the
land on the east side of the Wallamet, embracing the falls down to the
Clackamas River, a distance of about two miles. He had no idea, we
presume, that the company would succeed. However, he erected a shed on
the island, after the stuff was on the island to build a house, and then
gave them permission to build under certain restrictions. They took the
paper he wrote them, containing his conditions, but did not obligate
themselves to comply with the conditions, as they did not think his
claim just or reasonable.
Many projects had been started by the inhabitants, but, for want of
means and encouragement, failed. This fate was predicted for the Milling
Company. But, after much labor and difficulty, they succeeded in getting
a saw-mill erected, and ready to run, and entered into a contract to
have a grist-mill erected forthwith. And now, as they have succeeded,
where is the Hudson's Bay Company? Dr. McLaughlin employs hands to get
out a frame for a saw-mill, and erect it at Wallamet Falls; and we find,
as soon as the frame is up, the gearing, which has been made at
Vancouver, is brought up in boats; and that which cost a feeble company
of American citizens months of toil and embarrassment is accomplished by
the chief factor of the Hudson's Bay Company in a few weeks. He has men
and means, and it is said by him that in two weeks his mill will be
sawing. And what will be the consequence? Why, if the Milling Company
sell for $15 per thousand, he can sell for $12; if they reduce the price
to $10, he can come to $8, or $5, or $2 per thousand. He says he will
have a grist-mill started as soon as he gets the saw-mill in operation.
All the wheat in Oregon they are anxious to get, as they ship it to the
Russians on the northwest coast. In the first place they measured the
wheat in a half-bushel, called by them imperial measure, much larger
than the standard measure of the United States; this not answering, they
next proceeded _to kick the half-bushel with the foot to settle the
wheat_; then they brought up a measure larger than the former one; and
now they fill this measure, then strike it _three times with a stout
club_, and then fill up, and call it fair measure. Against such
proceedings we need law that will be respected and obeyed.
About twelve or fourteen years ago, the Hudson's Bay Company blasted a
canal a few feet to conduct water to a mill they were going to build,
the timber for which is now lying at the falls rotting. They, however,
abandoned the thing altogether, and built their mills on the Columbia,
about six miles above Vancouver, on the north side of the river.
In the year 1837, agreeably to orders left by Mr. Slacum, a house was
erected at the falls, to secure the claim for him.
In 1840, the Methodist Mission erected buildings at the falls, and
stationed two families there, and made a claim to sufficient land for
their buildings, not interfering with any others who might wish to
build. A short time previous to this, Dr. McLaughlin had a storehouse
erected for the company, not occupied, however, further than to store
wheat and other articles in, and as a trading-house during the salmon
season.
After this, in 1841, a shanty was erected, and a man kept at the falls,
whose business it was to trade with the Indians for furs and salmon, and
look out for the doctor's claim, he said, and to forbid persons building
at the falls, as some had built, and others were about building. This
man was, and still is, a servant of the Hudson's Bay Company.
During the years 1841 and 1842, several families settled at the falls,
when Dr. McLaughlin, who still resides at Fort Vancouver, comes on the
ground, and says the land is his, and any person building without his
permission is held as a trespasser. Without reference to any person's
right or claim, he employs a surveyor to run out the plat; and as a bill
was before the Senate of the United States to grant to every white male
inhabitant a mile square, he has a mile run out to suit his views, and
lays out a town plat at the falls, and calls it Oregon City. Although
some, for peace's sake, asked him for the lots they had already in
possession, and which he appeared very willing to grant, the doctor now
felt himself secure, and posted up the annexed paper (marked A), which
is the original; and all who had lots were required to pay Mr. Hastings
five dollars for a deed of land which they knew very well the grantor
did not own, but that Congress will pass a special act granting to each
man his lot and improvements. Those that applied received (if they had a
house on the lot) a deed, a copy of which is annexed (marked B); if they
had no house, a bond was given for five dollars, a copy of which is
annexed (marked C). To those that applied and paid their five dollars
all was right with the doctor; while those who considered his title to
the land not good, and that therefore he had no right to direct who
should build and who should not, had their lots sold to others. In one
case the purchaser came to the original claimant and ordered him to stop
digging the ground which he was preparing for a garden, and commanded
him to remove his fences, as he had Dr. McLaughlin's bond in his pocket
for the lots; and if he did not move the fence he would, and take
forcible possession. Those who desired to have no difficulty, and did
not apply for a deed, have lost their lots, the doctor's promise, and
all. And Mr. Hastings (the doctor's agent) is now offering for sale the
lots on which part of the mission buildings stand; and if he succeeds in
finding a purchaser, they must either contend or lose their buildings.
Dr. McLaughlin has held claims in other places south of the Columbia
River: at the Tualatin Plains and Clackamas Plains he had huts erected,
to prevent others from building; and such is the power of Dr.
McLaughlin, that many persons are actually afraid to make their
situation known, thinking, if he hears of it, he will stop their
supplies. Letters were received here from Messrs. Ladd & Co., of the
Sandwich Islands, in answer to a letter written by the late Mr. Ewing
Young, for a few supplies, that orders were received forbidding the
company's vessels carrying any goods for the settlers of Oregon. Every
means will be made use of by them to break down every thing that will
draw trade to this country, or enable persons to get goods at any other
place than their store.
One other item, and we are done. When the United States government
officers of distinction arrive, Vancouver is thrown open, and every
facility afforded them. They were even more condescending to the
settlers during the time the exploring squadron was in the Columbia;
nothing was left undone to give the officers a high opinion of the
Honorable Hudson's Bay Company. Our Indian agent is entirely dependent
on them for supplies and funds to carry on his operations.
And now your memorialists pray your honorable body that immediate action
of Congress be taken in regard to this country, and good and wholesome
laws be enacted for our Territory, as may, in your wisdom, be thought
best for the good of the American citizens residing here.
And your memorialists will ever pray.
Robert Shortess, A. E. Wilson*, W. C. Remick*, Jeffrey Brown, E. N.
Coombs, Reuben Lewis, George Davis, V. Bennett, J. Rekener, T. J.
Hubbard, James A. O'Neil, Jer. Horregon, William McCarty, Charles
Compo, John Howard*, R. Williams, G. Brown, John Turner*, Theodore
Pancott, A. F. Waller, J. R. Robb, J. L. Morrison, M. Crawford,
John Anderson, James M. Bates, L. H. Judson, Joel Turnham*, Richard
H. Ekin, H. Campbell*, James Force, W. H. Wilson*, Felix Hathaway*,
J. Lawson, Thomas J. Shadden*, Joseph Gibbs, S. Lewis, Jr., Charles
Roy, William Brown, S. Davis, Joseph Yatten, John Hopstatter*, G.
W. Bellomy*, William Brown, A. Beers, J. L. Parish, William H.
Gray, A. D. Smith*, J. C. Bridgers*, Aaron Cook, A. Copeland, S. W.
Moss, Gustavus Hines, George W. Le Breton*, Daniel Girtman, C. T.
Arrendrill, A. Touner, David Carter*, J. J. Campbell*, W. Johnson*,
John Edmunds, W. Hauxhurst, W. A. Pfieffer, J. Holman, H. B.
Brewer, William C. Sutton. Sixty-five in all.
* It is understood that the persons whose names are marked with an
asterisk (*) are now dead; the balance are supposed to be still
living.
The foregoing are all the names which appear to the petition printed as
Senate document 105, and presented to the Senate at the first session of
the twenty-eighth Congress.
W. J. MCDONALD,
Principal Clerk of Sec'y Senate.
WASHINGTON, D. C., Jan. 5, 1866.
Mr. George Abernethy declined to sign this petition through fear of
injuring the Methodist Mission in its secular or business relations with
the Hudson's Bay Company.
Hugh Burns would not sign it because he did not wish Congress to be
asked to confirm his title to lots and improvements.
Jason Lee, though he thought it right to petition Congress for
protection, yet on account of his position as superintendent of the
Methodist Mission, and the influence of the company against them should
he sign it, thought it best not to give his name.
Dr. I. L. Babcock refused, because, by signing, he would lose his
influence with the company.
Walter Pomeroy, ditto.
Dr. Bailey _did not wish any protection from the Congress of the United
States_.
Rev. H. K. W. Perkins was _ashamed_ of the petition. "What does Congress
care about measuring wheat? or a contest between two milling companies?"
George Gay did not care any thing about it. Congress might do as it
pleased; he did not want its protection.
The people in Tualatin Plains did not have an opportunity to sign or
refuse for want of time to circulate it in that section. The bearer of
it, William C. Sutton, was on his way to the States across the Rocky
Mountains. Through the influence of Dr. White, who had clandestinely
procured a copy of the petition and the names attached, and had made an
effort to prevent its reaching Mr. Sutton, it had been delayed, but
through the perseverance and promptness of Robert Shortess and A. E.
Wilson, it was sent by Davis and Johnson and some Indians in an express
canoe, and reached Mr. Sutton before he left the Cascades. For this
service to his country and the persevering efforts of Mr. Shortess to
maintain the rights of American citizens in it, he was early placed
under the ban of the Hudson's Bay Company, and, it may be added, the
Methodist Mission; and reports prejudicial to him have been freely and
persistently kept before the public mind, as also against any others
that have taken an active part against the infamous and despotic course
of that company. This is to weaken their testimony, and to render them
powerless to prevent the present proposed robbing of our national
treasury. Instead of paying one dime to that company for doing all they
dared to do to prevent the settlement of Oregon by Americans, a pension
should be paid to Robert Shortess and many others who dared to maintain
the rights of the American people to this western coast. Whitman periled
every thing and lost his life to save the country. Shortess has periled
all, and worn himself out in struggling under an influence that took the
life of Dr. Whitman and many others, for which this Hudson's Bay Company
are now to receive pay.
It is unnecessary for me to make a single remark in reference to this
petition. It is a history in itself of the times and events then
occurring. Mr. Hines refers to it as of little moment, and on page 150
says: "Not being one of the authors, but merely a signer of the
petition, I did not come under the ban of the company; consequently, I
obtained my outfit for the expedition, though at first there were strong
indications that I would be refused."
We would infer from this, that the Hudson's Bay Company did not regard
it as a serious matter, but in the next line he tells us: "We remained
at the fort over night and a part of the next day, and, after a _close
conversation with the gentlemen in command_, were treated with great
courtesy."
This lets us into the whole mystery of the affair. The gentlemen in
charge of the fort had become satisfied that Mr. Hines in his visit
among the Indians would not interfere with their arrangements already
made with McKay and White; in fact, that Mr. Hines approved of Dr.
White's policy of uniting the tribes in the interior to accomplish the
one great object of the company. The documents that follow are given to
show the fact stated in the petition, as also the high-handed measures
of the company and Dr. McLaughlin.
A.
Notice is hereby given to all whom it may concern, that those who have
obtained grants of lots in Oregon City, will be expected to call upon L.
W. Hastings, my authorized agent at Oregon City, and obtain a bond for a
deed or deeds, as the case may be. Those who hold claims to any lot, and
who comply with the above requisite, on or before the first day of
February next, will be entitled to their lot or lots; otherwise, the
lots upon which they hold a claim will thereafter be subject to any
disposition which the undersigned may think proper to make of them.
JOHN MCLAUGHLIN.
January 18, 1843.
OREGON CITY, March 27, 1843.
We, the undersigned, do hereby certify that the above notice of John
McLaughlin was posted up in the most public places in this town.
R. SHORTESS.
A. E. WILSON.
* * * * *
B.
_Deed--John McLaughlin to Walter Pomeroy._
Know all men by these presents, that I, John McLaughlin, of Fort
Vancouver, in the Territory of Oregon, for and in consideration of the
sum of one dollar, to me in hand paid by Walter Pomeroy, of Oregon City,
of the Territory aforesaid, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged,
have this day, and do, by these presents, remit, release, and forever
quit claim unto the said Pomeroy, his heirs and assigns, all and
singular, the following piece, parcel, and lot of land, bounded and
described as follows, to wit: Commencing at the northeast corner,
running thence southerly sixty-six feet to a stake, thence easterly one
hundred feet to a stake at the place of beginning, being lot number
four, in block number three, in the town of Oregon City, in the
Territory of Oregon, which will more fully appear from a reference to
the map and plan of said town:
To have and to hold the same, together with all and singular the
privileges and appurtenances thereunto in any wise appertaining or
belonging unto the said Pomeroy, his heirs, executors, administrators,
or assigns, forever.
And I, the said McLaughlin, for myself, do vouch and declare that I am
the true and proper claimant of and to the said premises and lot of
land, and that I have in myself full power, good right, and sufficient
authority to remit, release, and quit my claim in and to said lot and
premises, in manner and form aforesaid.
And I, the said McLaughlin, do hereby covenant and agree to warrant and
defend the said premises, together with the privileges and appurtenances
thereunto appertaining or belonging, to the said Pomeroy, his heirs and
assigns, against all lawful claims of all persons whomsoever, _the
claims of the government only excepted_.
In testimony whereof, I, the said McLaughlin, have hereunto set my hand
and affixed my seal, this the 2d of March, A.D. 1843.
JOHN MCLAUGHLIN. [L. S.]
Per L. W. HASTINGS, his agent.
We, the undersigned, do hereby acknowledge that the above is a true and
correct copy of the original.
R. SHORTESS.
A. E. WILSON.
* * * * *
C.
_Bond--John McLaughlin to Albert E. Wilson._
Know all men by these presents, that I, John McLaughlin, of Fort
Vancouver, in the Territory of Oregon, am held and firmly bound unto
Albert E. Wilson, of Oregon City, in the Territory aforesaid, in the
full sum of five hundred dollars, federal money; for the punctual
payment of which, well and truly to be made, I bind myself, my heirs,
executors or administrators, firmly by these presents.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto below set my hand and affixed my
seal, this the 26th day of December, A.D. 1842.
Now, know ye, that the condition of the above obligation is such, that
whereas the said Wilson hath this day, and doth by these presents,
purchase of the said McLaughlin all and singular the following pieces,
parcels, tracts, and lots of land, namely: Lots Nos. four and five, in
block No. two, in the town of Oregon City, in the Territory of Oregon,
as is more fully shown by the map and plan of said town, and hath, and
by these presents doth agree to build upon and improve each of the lots
within the term of one year from the date of these presents. In
consideration of which, the said McLaughlin hath, and doth by these
presents covenant and agree to make the said Wilson a good and
sufficient quit-claim deed for and to all and singular the
above-mentioned pieces, parcels, tracts, and lots of land, whenever he,
the said Wilson, shall have complied with the above conditions on his
part. Now, if the said McLaughlin shall well and truly make, or cause to
be made, the said deed to the said Wilson, upon the said Wilson's
complying on his part with the above condition, then, and in such case,
the within obligation shall become entirely void and of no effect;
otherwise to be and remain of full force and virtue.
JOHN MCLAUGHLIN. [L. S.]
Per L. W. HASTINGS, his agent.
We, the undersigned, do hereby acknowledge the above to be a true and
correct copy of the original.
R. SHORTESS.
A. E. WILSON.
Our history would not be complete without these documents. It will be
noticed in Mr. Pomeroy's deed, as also all the other deeds given by Dr.
McLaughlin, that he "warrants and defends" against all lawful claims of
all persons whomsoever, _the claims of the government only excepted_. He
would not insert _United States government_, for he expected the English
would get the country. He asserts in his deeds, "And I, the said
McLaughlin, _for myself_, do vouch and declare that I am the true and
proper claimant of, and to the said premises and lot of land, and that I
have in myself full power and good right."
Any one questioning his power and authority was made to feel it in a
manner more severe than that of any governor of a State or of the
President of the United States.
It was unfortunate that, at the time Dr. McLaughlin was making his claim
to the land and his improvements at Oregon City, it was not known that
he had, or would, sever his connection with the Hudson's Bay Company,
and become an American citizen, as he afterward did. It was his
connection with, and apparent control over, the affairs of the company,
that created the strong American prejudice against him, and deceived
many as to his intentions, besides giving occasion for a strong feeling
in favor of Rev. Mr. Waller, who employed a Mr. John Ricord to prepare a
declaration setting forth his claim to that location, as follows:--
"_To the People of Oregon:_
"FELLOW-CITIZENS,--Having been retained professionally to establish
the claim of Mr. Alvin F. Waller to the tract of land on the east
side of the Wallamet River, sometimes called the Wallamet Falls
settlement, and sometimes Oregon City, I consider it a duty to my
client and to the public to state, briefly and concisely, the
several circumstances of his case, as they really exist, in order
that his motives may not be impugned, nor his intentions
misunderstood and misrepresented.
"The public are already aware that my client commenced the occupancy
of this farm in the spring of A.D. 1840, when no one resided at the
falls, and that, in the course of that summer, he built his house,
moved his family into it, and cleared and fenced a good portion of
the land; from which, in the ensuing years A.D. 1841 and 1842, he
raised successive crops of corn, potatoes, and other vegetables
usually cultivated by farmers. That he remained thus occupying
undisturbed, until the month of December, A.D. 1842, about two years
and six months, when Dr. John McLaughlin caused his farm to be
surveyed, for the purpose of selling it in subdivisions to American
citizens. It has since been currently reported and quite generally
believed that my client had renounced his right in favor of Dr.
McLaughlin. This I am authorized to contradict, having perused the
letter written by Mr. Waller, which not only contains no
renunciation, but, on the contrary, is replete with modest and firm
assertions of his rights in the premises; offering at the same time
to relinquish his claim if the doctor would comply with certain very
reasonable and just conditions. Upon this offer the parties had come
to no final conclusion until my arrival in the colony, when Dr.
McLaughlin attempted to employ me to establish his claim,
disregarding the rights of all other persons, which I declined
doing. Mr. Waller thereupon engaged me to submit the conditions a
second time to the doctor for his acceptance or rejection, which I
did in the following words:--
"'1st. That your pre-emptive line be so run as to exclude the island
upon which a private company of citizens have already erected a
grist-mill, conceding to them as much water as may be necessary for
the use of said mills.
"'2d. That Mr. Waller be secured in the ultimate title to the two
city lots now in his possession and other lots not exceeding in
superficial area five acres, to be chosen by him from among the
unsold lots of your present survey.
"'3d. That the Rev. Mr. Lee, on behalf of the Methodist Episcopal
Mission, be, in like manner, secured in the lots claimed for the use
of said mission.' They consist of church and parsonage lots, and
are well known to the public.
"I received a letter from Dr. McLaughlin, dated November 10, 1843,
in answer to mine, in which he declines complying with the above
conditions, and thus puts an end to the offer of my client to
relinquish his right of pre-emption. Under these circumstances Mr.
Waller has now applied to the Supreme Court of the United States,
which, under the Constitution, has original jurisdiction of 'all
cases in law and equity, arising under treaties,' to grant him a
commission for perpetuating the testimony of the facts in his case,
_de bene esse_, in order that whenever Congress shall hereafter see
fit to prescribe, by law, the conditions and considerations, he may
be enabled to demand of the United States a patent; also praying the
court to grant him such other relief in the premises as may be
consonant with equity and good conscience.
"The legality of Mr. A. F. Waller's claim rests upon the following
grounds:--
"1st. He was a citizen of the United States, of full age, and
possessed of a family when he came to reside on the premises; 2d. He
built a house upon them and moved his family into it, thus becoming
in fact and in law a householder on the land; 3d. He cleared,
fenced, and cultivated a portion of it during two years and six
months before he was disturbed in his actual possession; and 4th.
That he is not at this moment continuing to cultivate his farm is
not his fault, since it was wrested from him.
"The illegality of Dr. McLaughlin's claim rests upon the following
grounds:--
"1st. He was a British subject owing allegiance to a foreign power,
and has so continued to be ever since the spring of A.D. 1840. For
this reason alone he could not acquire pre-emption to lands in the
United States.
"2d. He is chief officer of a foreign corporative monopoly. For this
reason alone he could not acquire pre-emption to lands in the United
States.
"3d. He does not now, and never did, reside on the land in question;
but, on the contrary, he resides, and has always continued to
reside, on the north bank of the Columbia River, the section of
country actually in dispute between the two governments, about
twenty miles from the land claimed by Mr. Waller, and there he is
obliged to remain so long as he continues to be chief factor.
"4th. He is not in fact the claimant. The Hudson's Bay Company, a
foreign corporation, is in fact the claimant, while Dr. McLaughlin
only lends his name; well knowing that a corporation, even though
it be an American one, can not acquire a pre-emption. This is
evinced by the employment of men to be his agents, and to sell lots
for him, who are at the same time partners in, and receiving
dividends and salaries from, the company.
"5th. The pretensions of Dr. McLaughlin arose, if at all, two years
and six months after the actual settlement of Mr. Waller; and
therefore they are in direct violation of the treaty of A.D. 1827,
converting the mutual and joint occupation into an exclusive
occupancy by British subjects.
"6th. The treaty of joint occupation (1827) does not, and was never
intended, on the part of the United States, to confer any rights of
citizenship upon foreigners. The power to confer such rights is, by
the Constitution, reserved to Congress. And the right to acquire
title by pre-emption is peculiar to citizens.
"These, fellow-citizens, are the facts and some of the points of law
in my client's case. Upon the same principle contended for by Dr.
McLaughlin, any of you may incur the risk of being ousted from your
farms in this colony, by the next rich foreigner who chooses to take
a fancy so to do, unless in the first instance you come unanimously
forward and resist these usurpations. It is not my client's
intention to wrong any who have purchased lots of the doctor; and to
guard against the injury which might result to individuals in this
respect, I have carefully drawn up the form of a bond for a
warrantee deed, which Mr. Waller is at all times ready, without any
further consideration, to execute to any person who has, in good
faith, bought of the doctor, prior to the date of this notice, by
being applied to at his residence. Mr. Waller does not require one
cent of money to be paid to him as a consideration for his
bonds--the trouble, expense, and outlays they have already incurred,
with a desire to save all such persons harmless from pecuniary loss,
is a good and sufficient consideration in law to bind him in the
proposed penalty of one thousand dollars. (See Cowan's
Digest--Assumpsit, B).
"I am of opinion that Mr. Waller has rights in the premises, which
neither Dr. McLaughlin, nor even Congress, by any retrospective
legislation, can take away from him,--and therefore,
fellow-citizens, in sincere friendship, I would counsel you to lose
no time in applying to him for your new bonds.
"JOHN RICORD,
"Counselor in the Supreme Court of the United States,
and attorney for Alvin F. Waller.
"Dated December 20, 1843."
CHAPTER XXXIX.
Extracts from Mr. Hines' history.--Attempt to capture an Indian
horse-thief.--Dr. McLaughlin refuses to sell supplies to the
signers of the petition.--Excitement in the settlement.--Interview
with Dr. McLaughlin at Vancouver.
"April 14.--Information was brought to the settlement from the Clackamas
tribe of Indians, who live three miles below the falls of the Wallamet,
which served to increase the excitement occasioned by the reports from
the interior. It appears that an Indian of the Molalla tribe, connected
with the Clackamas Indians by marriage, stole a horse from a man by the
name of Anderson, and when asked by the latter if he had stolen his
horse and rode him off, answered, 'Yes, I stole your horse, and when I
want another one I shall steal him also.' To this Anderson replied, 'If
you stole my horse you must pay me for him.' 'Yes,' said the Indian, 'I
will pay you for him, take that horse,' pointing to a very poor horse
which stood near by, with one eye out, and a very sore back. Anderson
replied, 'That is a very poor horse, and mine is a good one; I shall not
take him, and if you don't bring him back I will report you to Dr.
White.' 'I am not afraid of Dr. White,' said the Indian; 'let him come
if he wants to, and bring the Boston people with him; he will find me
prepared for him.'
"Anderson not being able to effect a settlement with the Indian,
immediately reported him to the agent, whereupon the latter wrote to a
man at the falls, by the name of Campbell, to take a sufficient number
of men armed with muskets, and go very early in the morning to the
Indian camp, and take the horse-thief a prisoner, and bring him to the
falls.
"Accordingly, Campbell procured five men, and went to the camp as
commanded, but found thirty or forty Indians painted in the most hideous
manner, and armed with muskets, bows and arrows, tomahawks and
scalping-knives, and determined at all events to protect the
horse-thief, and drive back those that should come to take him. Campbell
rushed on to take the rogue, but met with much resistance from
superiority of numbers; and finding that the enterprise, if urged
forward, would terminate in bloodshed, if not in the loss of all their
lives, sounded a retreat, and extricating himself from the Indians,
returned to the falls. He communicated the result of his attempt to Dr.
White, and the doctor started off immediately in company with G. W. Le
Breton, resolved to capture the thief and bring the tribe to terms."
This day's proceedings are given as a specimen of the foolish conduct of
Dr. White and his friends.
"April 17.--The excitement still continues, former reports having been
confirmed, and all were engaged in repairing guns, and securing
ammunition. A report was in circulation that Dr. McLaughlin refused to
grant supplies for any consideration, to all those persons who
subscribed the memorial praying the Congress of the United States to
extend jurisdiction over Oregon. If this be so, the American population
(as nearly all signed the memorial) will not be able to obtain
ammunition, however necessary it may be, as there is none in the country
except what may by found within the stockades of Vancouver. I think,
however, that the report is false. Report says, furthermore, that the
Klikitat Indians are collecting together back of the Tualatin plains,
but for what purpose is not known. The people on the plains, consisting
of about thirty families, are quite alarmed. There is also a move among
the Calapooyas. Shoefon, one of the principal men of the tribe, left
this place a few days ago, and crossed the Wallamet River, declaring
that he would never return until he came with a band of men to drive off
the Boston people. He was very much offended because some of his people
were seized and flogged, through the influence of Dr. White, for having
stolen a horse from some of the missionaries, and flour from the mission
mill. His influence is not very extensive among the Indians, or we might
have much to fear.
"The colony is indeed in a most defenseless condition; two hundred
Indians, divided into four bands, might destroy the whole settlement in
one night.
"In the evening of the 17th, Dr. White arrived at my house, bringing
intelligence from the falls. He and Mr. Le Breton attempted to go to the
falls on horseback, but in trying to ford Haunchauke River, they found
the water so deep they were obliged to swim, and the doctor turned his
horse's head and came out the side he went in; but Le Breton, being the
better mounted of the two, succeeded in gaining the opposite shore; and
having the doctor's letters in his possession, continued on to the
falls. The doctor returned to the settlement. Le Breton returned the
following day, and brought information from the five men who had
attempted to take the Indian who had stolen Anderson's horse, that soon
after their retreat the Indians became alarmed and broke up in great
haste; but, before they left, they informed Anderson that the horse they
had stolen from him was worn out and good for nothing, and tying a good
horse to a tree near Anderson's house, they told him that he must take
that and be satisfied. They then hurried away, saying that they should
not be seen in that region again. It was ascertained that the Clackamas
Indians had nothing to do with the stolen horse; that it was a band of
the Molallas, the very same rascals that stole a horse from me two years
before, and after having him in their possession several weeks, brought
him down within a few miles of my house, where they encamped, and where
I went with one man and took him from the midst of more than fifty
grim-looking savages."
This shows at least that Mr. Hines had personal courage.
"On the 20th of April a letter was received in the settlement, written
by H. B. Brewer, at the Dalles, which brings the latest intelligence
from the infected region. This letter states that the Indians in the
interior talk much of war, and Mr. Brewer urges Dr. White to come up
without delay, and endeavor to allay the excitement. He does not inform
us that the Indians design any evil toward the whites, but says that the
war is to be between themselves, but that the Boston people have much to
fear. As the doctor, in his visit to the interior last October, left an
appointment to meet the Wallawalla Indians and the Cayuses, in their own
country, on the 10th of May, and believing that a great share of the
excitement originated in a misunderstanding of the Indians, he came to
the conclusion at all hazards to go among them. At the solicitation of
the agent, I determined to accompany him on the expedition.
"The great complaint of the Indians was that the Boston people designed
to take away their lands, and reduce them to slavery. This they had
inferred from what Dr. White had told them in his previous visit; and
this misunderstanding of the Indians had not only produced a great
excitement among them, but had occasioned considerable trouble betwixt
them and the missionaries and other whites in the upper country, as well
as influencing them to threaten the destruction of all the American
people. Individuals had come down from Fort Wallawalla to Vancouver,
bringing information of the excited state of things among the Indians,
and giving out that it would be extremely dangerous for Dr. White to go
up to meet his engagements. Their opinion was, that in all probability
he and the party which he might think proper to take with him would be
cut off. But it was the opinion of many judicious persons in the
settlement, that the welfare of the Indians, and the peace and security
of the whites, demanded that some persons qualified to negotiate with
the Indians should proceed immediately to the scene of disaffection, and
if possible remove the cause of the excitement by correcting the error
under which the Indians labored. Accordingly Dr. White engaged twelve
men besides myself, mostly French-Canadians who had had much experience
with Indians, to go with him; but a few days before the time fixed upon
to start had arrived, they all sent him word that they had decided not
to go. They were doubtless induced to pursue this course through the
influence of Dr. McLaughlin and the Catholic priests."
Most likely, Mr. Hines, but you seem to be afraid to express a decided
opinion, even after they have accomplished their object.
"When the day arrived for starting, we found ourselves abandoned by
every person who had engaged to go, except Mr. G. W. Le Breton, an
American, one Indian boy, and one Kanaka. With the two latter the doctor
and myself left the Wallamet settlement on the 25th of April, 1843, and
proceeded on horseback to the Butte, where we found Le Breton in waiting
for us. He had provided a canoe and a few pieces of pork and beef for
our use on the voyage.
"Here we met a letter from Dr. John McLaughlin, at Vancouver,
discouraging us from our undertaking in view of the difficulties and
dangers attending such an expedition; but we had counted the cost, and
were not to be diverted from our purpose, though danger stared us in the
face. We supposed that if the Indians entertained any hostile intentions
against the whites in general, there could be no better way to defeat
their purposes than to go among them; convince them that they had no
grounds of fear; and that the whites, instead of designing to bring them
into subjection, were desirous of doing them good. Prevented by one
thing and another from setting sail, on the night of the 27th we slept
on a bank of sand at the Butte, and next day proceeded in our little
canoe down to Wallamet Falls, where we continued until the 29th. Here we
received another package from Dr. McLaughlin, giving us information that
Rev. Mr. Demerse, a Catholic priest, had just come down from the upper
country, bringing intelligence that the Indians are only incensed
against the Boston people; that they have nothing against the French and
King George people; they are not mad at them, but are determined that
the Boston people shall not have their lands, and take away their
liberties.
"On receiving this intelligence from Mr. Demerse, Dr. McLaughlin advised
the Frenchmen, who had engaged to go with Dr. White, to have nothing to
do with the quarrel, to remain quiet at home, and let the Americans take
care of themselves. He also expressed, in his letter, the opinion that
all the people should remain quiet, and in all probability the
excitement among the Indians would soon subside.
"Not seeing sufficient reason to change our course, on the morning of
the 28th we left our hospitable friends at the falls and continued our
course down the Wallamet toward Vancouver. At noon we had sailed twenty
miles, and stopped for dinner within five miles of the mouth of the
Wallamet, on a low piece of ground, overgrown with luxuriant grass, but
which is always overflowed at the rise of the Columbia, or about the
first of June. Weighed anchor after dinner, and at four o'clock, P.M.,
arrived at Vancouver. Called on Dr. McLaughlin for goods, provisions,
powder, balls, etc., for our accommodation on our voyage up the
Columbia, and, though he was greatly surprised that, under the
circumstances, we should think of going among those excited Indians, yet
he ordered his clerks to let us have whatever we wanted. However, we
found it rather squally at the fort, not so much on account of our going
among the Indians of the interior, as in consequence of a certain
memorial having been sent to the United States Congress, implicating the
conduct of Dr. McLaughlin and the Hudson's Bay Company, and bearing the
signature of seventy Americans. I inquired of the doctor if he had
refused to grant supplies to those Americans who had signed that
document; he replied that he had not, but that the authors of the
memorial need expect no more favors from him. _Not being one of the
authors, but merely a signer of the petition, I did not come under the
ban of the company_; consequently I obtained my outfit for the
expedition, though at first there were strong indications that I would
be refused.
"We remained at the fort over night and a part of the next day, and
after a close conversation with the gentleman in command, were treated
with great courtesy."
CHAPTER XL.
A combination of facts.--Settlers alive to their danger.--Mr.
Hines' disparagement of the Methodist Mission.--Indians want pay
for being whipped.--Indian honesty.--Mr. Hines' opinion of the
Indians' religion.--Mr. Geiger's advice.--Dr. McLaughlin's answer
to Yellow Serpent.--Baptiste Doreo.--Four conflicting influences.
We now have before us a combination of facts and statements that no one
living at the time they occurred will attempt to deny. Shortess and
others still live to vouch for the truth of what is written. If Mr.
Hines has shown the least partiality in his writings, it is strongly in
favor of influences that were operating against him and the cause he
advocated; while such men as Rogers, Le Breton, Wilson, Whitman, and
others still living, spoke and acted the American sentiment of the
country. Mr. Hines and Dr. White had received two packages from Dr.
McLaughlin advising them not to go to the interior, and the Jesuit
priest, Demerse, had come down bringing word that the "quarrel" was not
with the _French_ and _English_, and that Dr. McLaughlin advised his
Frenchmen to remain at home and let the Americans take care of
themselves. Mr. Brewer is deceived as to the cause of the war rumors
about him, and seems solicitous only about the Indians. With all these
facts, as given by Mr. Hines, with his ability and experience, we are at
a loss to understand how it is that he could take notes and publish, in
1851, statements as above quoted, and then proceed with the account that
follows, rather excusing Dr. McLaughlin and the priests in the part they
are taking in attempting to crush the American settlement, and actually
aiding the Hudson's Bay Company in combining and marshaling the savages
to weaken and destroy his countrymen!
The writer does not believe he intended to do any thing of the kind, yet
the influences brought to bear upon him were such that he became an
active instrument with Dr. White to accomplish the one great object of
the Hudson's Bay Company and English government, and becomes the
apologist for a premeditated and deliberate murder of his countrymen.
The Whitman massacre he does not even mention.
The settlers were alive to their danger. They had no head, no
organization, no one to look to for supplies or protection. They knew
that the sub-agent of the United States government was the dupe of
their worst enemy, and had betrayed them. They knew that it was the
policy and disposition of the missions to keep them under their control.
We are fully aware of the fact that the leading clergymen of all the
missions attempt to deny the position above stated. But in the covenant
of Mr. Griffin with Mr. Munger, he admits that the articles of compact
and arrangement of the various missionary societies all affirm the one
principle, that laymen or members of their societies were subject to the
orders and dictation of the clergymen, not only in religious, but all
financial and secular matters,--hence the disposition and determination
on the part of these clerical gentlemen to govern the early settlement
of the country. The Hudson's Bay Company system of absolute government
was favorable to this idea. The Jesuit priests, who combined their
influence with the company, all contributed to oppress and keep down the
settler. While the priests were active in combining and preparing the
Indians in middle Oregon to rob and destroy the emigrant on his lonely,
weary, toilsome way to this country, their agents and principal clerks
were equally active in shaping matters in the various neighborhoods and
settlements west of the Cascades.
On the 156th page of Mr. Hines' book he gives us a short summary of the
labors of Revs. Daniel Lee, H. K. W. Perkins, and Mr. H. B. Brewer:
"They are laboring to establish a permanent mission at this place [the
Dalles] for the benefit of the Indians, but with doubtful success." That
the Methodist Mission should be misled and become inefficient is not to
be wondered at when such men as Mr. Hines, holding the position and
assuming a controlling influence as he did, should express himself in
the language quoted above. The "doubtful success" attending all the
missionary labors of the Methodist Mission was unquestionably
attributable to the opinions of just such men, privately and publicly
expressed, with corresponding "doubtful" and divided labors, while the
ignorance of the religious supporters of the Roman missions enabled them
to deceive their neophytes and patrons, and keep up their own missions
and destroy those of the Protestants.
Soon after Mr. Hines and party arrived at the Dalles, some twenty
Indians assembled to have a talk with Dr. White, who had in his visit in
the fall of 1842 prevailed upon this band to organize an Indian
government by appointing one high chief and three subordinates to see
that all violators of his rules were punished by being flogged for
offenses that formerly were considered trifling and evidence of native
cunning and smartness. As was to be expected, some of the Indians would
resist and use their knives and weapons in their own defense.
There is an interesting incident related by Mr. Hines, in reference to
Indian character, on his 157th page:--
"The Indians want pay for being whipped, in compliance with Dr.
White's laws, the same as they did for praying to please the
missionaries, during the great Indian revival of 1839. Those
appointed by Dr. White were desirous that his regulations should
continue, because they placed the people under their absolute
control, and gave them the power to regulate all their intercourse
with the whites, and with the other Indian tribes. But the other
influential men who were not in office desired to know of Dr. White
of what benefit this whipping system was going to be to them. They
said they were willing it should continue, provided they were to
receive shirts and pants and blankets as a reward for being whipped.
They had been whipped a good many times and had got nothing for it,
and it had done them no good. If this state of things was to
continue, it was all _cultus_, good for nothing, and they would
throw it away. The doctor wished them to understand that they need
not expect pay for being flogged when they deserved it. They laughed
at the idea, and separated."
Just here the writer will give one other incident, related of Yallop, an
Indian belonging to the same tribe, as stated by Rev. Mr. Condon, of the
Dalles:--
"Yallop was requested to remain at the house of Mr. Joslin during
the absence of the family, one cold day, and see that nothing was
disturbed, with the understanding that he was to go into the house
and make himself comfortable till the family returned. On coming
home they found the Indian outdoors under a tree, cold and nearly
frozen. They inquired the reason of his strange conduct, and wanted
to know why he did not stay in the house. Yallop said he went into
the house and found every thing so nice and comfortable that by and
by the old Indian came into him again and he wanted to steal all
there was in the house, and the only way he could get over that
feeling was to go out under the tree in the cold."
Mr. Hines, in speaking of this same band, says, 158th page: "As a matter
of course, lying has much to do in their system of trade, and he is the
best fellow who can tell the biggest lie, make men believe it, and
practice the greatest deception. A few years ago a great religious
excitement prevailed among these Indians, and nearly the whole tribe,
consisting of a thousand, professed to be converted, were baptized, and
received into the Christian church; but they have nearly all relapsed
into their former state, with the exception that many of them still keep
up the outward form of religion.
"Their religion appears to be more of the head than of the heart,
and though they are exceedingly vicious, yet doubtless they would be
much worse than they are, but for the"--("doubtful success," as Mr.
Hines affirms on his 156th page, while here he says)--"_restraining
influences_ exerted by the missionaries."
Mr. Hines has given us an interesting history of those early missionary
labors, but the greater portion of his book relates to himself,--to his
travels on shipboard, and at the Sandwich Islands, a trip to China and
back to New York, and his trip to the interior of Oregon.
He says: "The Cayuse Indians, among whom this mission is established,
had freely communicated to Mr. Geiger, whom they esteemed as their
friend, all they knew concerning it. When the Indians were told that the
Americans were designing to subjugate them and take away their land, the
young chiefs of the Cayuse tribe were in favor of proceeding immediately
to hostilities. They were for raising a large war party and rushing
directly down to the Wallamet settlement and cutting off the inhabitants
at a blow. They frequently remarked to Mr. Geiger that they did not wish
to go to war, but if the Americans came to take away their lands and
make slaves of them they would fight so long as they had a drop of blood
to shed. They said they had received their information concerning the
designs of the Americans from Baptiste Doreo, who is a half-breed son of
Madame Doreo,--the heroine of Washington Irving's 'Astoria,'--understands
the Nez Percé language well, and had given the Cayuses the information
that had alarmed them. Mr. Geiger endeavored to induce them to prepare
early in the spring to cultivate the ground as they did the year before,
but they refused to do any thing, saying that Baptiste Doreo had told
them that it would be of no consequence; that the Americans would come
in the summer and kill them all off and destroy their plantations.
"After Doreo had told them this story, they sent a Wallawalla
chief--Yellow Serpent--to Vancouver, to learn from Dr. McLaughlin the
facts in the case.
"Yellow Serpent returned and told the Cayuses that Dr. McLaughlin said
he had nothing to do in a war with the Indians; that he did not believe
the Americans designed to attack them, and that if the _Americans did go
to war with the Indians, the Hudson's Bay Company would not assist
them_. After they got this information from the Emakus Myohut (big
chief), the Indians became more calm. Many of them went to cultivating
the ground as formerly, and a large number of little patches had been
planted and sown before we arrived at the station."
Mr. Hines soon learned that the reports about war that had reached the
lower country were not without foundation. That the Indians still had
confidence in Mr. Geiger, and that they did not wish to go to war. The
reader will observe the statement of the Indians after they had told Mr.
Geiger they would fight if forced to do so. "They," the Indians, "said
they had received their information concerning the designs of the
Americans from Baptiste Doreo." This half-breed is also an interpreter
of the Hudson's Bay Company, and an important leader among the
half-breeds--next to Thomas McKay. After Doreo had told them his story,
the Indians were still unwilling to commence a war against the
Americans. They sent a messenger to Vancouver to consult Dr. McLaughlin,
just as those same Indians in 1841 went to Mr. McKinley, then in charge
of Fort Wallawalla, and wanted to know of him, if it was not good for
them to drive Dr. Whitman and Mr. Gray away from that station because
the Doctor refused to pay them for the land the mission occupied? Mr.
McKinley understood their object, and was satisfied that there were
outside influences that he did not approve of, and told the Indians,
"Yes, you are braves; there is a number of you, and but two of them and
two women and some little children; you can go and kill them or drive
them away; you go just as quick as you can and do it; but if you do I
will see that you are punished." The Indians understood Mr. McKinley.
Whitman and Gray were not disturbed after this.
Dr. John McLaughlin we believe to have been one of the noblest of men
while he lived, but, like Messrs. Hines, White, Burnett, Newell,
Spalding, and many others, influences were brought to bear upon him that
led him to adopt and pursue a doubtful if not a crooked course. It was
evident to any one conversant with the times of which we are writing
that there were at least four elements or influences operating in the
country, viz., the unasserted or _quasi_ rights of the American
government; the coveted and actual occupancy of the country by the
English Hudson's Bay Company and subjects, having the active civil
organization of that government; the occupancy of the country by the
American missions; and the coveted occupancy of the same by the Roman
Jesuit missions.
These four influences could not harmonize; there was no such thing as a
union and co-operation. The struggle was severe to hold and gain the
controlling influence over the natives of the country, and shape the
settlements to these conflicting views and national and sectarian
feelings. The American settler, gaining courage and following the
example and the track of the American missionaries with their wives,
winds his way over the mountains and through the desert and barren
plains down the Columbia River and through the Cascade Mountains,--
weary, way-worn, naked, and hungry. In one instance, with his rifle upon
his shoulder, and his wife and three children mounted upon the back of
his last ox, he plods his weary way through Oregon City, and up the
Wallamet, to find his future home; and there the warm heart of the early
missionary and his family is ready to feed, clothe, and welcome the
wanderer to this distant part of our great national domain, in order
that he may aid in securing Oregon to its rightful inhabitants, and in
forming a fifth power that shall supersede and drive away all foreign
influences.
For a time the struggle with the four influences was severe and
doubtful; but men who had crossed the Rocky and Cascade mountains with
ox-teams, were not made to give up their country's cause in the hour of
danger, though Britain and Rome, with their savage allies, joined to
subdue and drive them from it. With the British Hudson's Bay Company,
Roman Jesuit missions, savage Indians, American missions, and American
settlers the struggle is continued.
CHAPTER XLI.
Governor Simpson and Dr. Whitman in Washington.--Interviews with
Daniel Webster and President Tyler.--His cold reception in Boston
by the American Board.--Conducts a large emigration safely across
the Rocky Mountains into Oregon.--The "Memorial Half-Century
Volume."--The Oregon mission ignored by the American Board.--Dr.
McLaughlin.--His connection with the Hudson's Bay
Company.--Catholic Cayuses' manner of praying.--Rev. C.
Eells.--Letter from A. L. Lovejoy.--Description of Whitman's and
Lovejoy's winter journey from Oregon to Bent's Fort on the Arkansas
River.
Governor Simpson, of the Hudson's Bay Company, had reached Washington
and been introduced to Mr. Webster, then Secretary of State, by the
British Minister. All the influence a long-established and powerful
monopoly, backed by the grasping disposition of the English government,
can command, is brought to bear upon the question of the northwestern
boundary. The executive of the American republic is about ready to give
up the country, as of little value to the nation.
Just at this time, in the dead of winter, an awkward, tall,
spare-visaged, vigorous, off-hand sort of a man, appeared at the
Department in his mountain traveling garb, consisting of a dark-colored
blanket coat and buckskin pants, showing that to keep himself from
freezing to death he had been compelled to lie down close to his
camp-fire while in the mountains, and on his way to Washington he had
not stopped for a moment, but pushed on with a vigor and energy
peculiarly his own. It is but justice to say of this man that his heart
and soul were in the object of the errand for which he had traversed the
vast frozen and desert regions of the Rocky Mountains, to accomplish
which was to defeat the plans of the company, as shown by the taunting
reply of the Briton, "_that no power could make known to his government
the purposes of those who had laid their plans and were ready to grasp
the prize they sought_." While they were counting on wealth, power,
influence, and the undisputed possession of a vast and rich country,
this old pioneer missionary (layman though he was), having no thought of
himself or of his ridiculous appearance before the great Daniel Webster
and the President of a great nation, sought an interview with them and
stated his object, and the plans and purposes of the Hudson's Bay
Company and the British government: that their representations of this
country were false in every respect as regards its agricultural,
mineral, and commercial value to the nation; that it was only to secure
the country to themselves, that the false reports about it had been put
in circulation by their emissaries and agents; that a wagon road to the
Pacific was practicable; that he had, in 1836, in opposition to all
their false statements and influence to the contrary, taken a wagon to
Boise; and that, in addition, wagons and teams had, in 1841, been taken
to the Wallamet Valley, and that he expected, his life being spared, to
pilot an emigration to the country that would forever settle the
question beyond further dispute. He asserted that a road was
practicable, and the country was invaluable to the American people. Mr.
Webster coolly informed him that he had his mind made up; he was ready
to part with what was to him an unknown and unimportant portion of our
national domain, for the privilege of a small settlement in Maine and
the fisheries on the banks of Newfoundland.
There was but one other hope in this case. This old off-hand Oregon
missionary at once sought an interview with President Tyler. He repeated
his arguments and reasons, and asked for delay in the final settlement
of the boundary question, which, to those high in office, and, we may
add, total ignorance of all that related to this vast country, was of
small moment. But that Dr. Whitman (for the reader has already guessed
the name of our missionary) stood before the President of the United
States the only representative of Oregon and all her future interests
and greatness, a self-constituted, self-appointed, and without a
parallel self-periled representative, pleading simply for delay in the
settlement of so vast and important a question to his country,--that he
should be able to successfully contend with the combined influences
brought against him,--can only be attributed to that overruling power
which had decreed that the nation, whose interests he represented,
should be sustained.
Mr. Tyler, after listening to the Doctor's statements with far more
candor and interest than Mr. Webster was disposed to do, informed him
that, notwithstanding they had received entirely different statements
from gentlemen of the Hudson's Bay Company and the British minister,
then in Washington, yet he would trust to his personal representation
and estimate of the value of the country to the American people. He
said: "Dr. Whitman, in accordance with your representations and
agreeable to your request, this question shall be deferred. An escort
shall be furnished for the protection of the emigration you propose to
conduct to that distant country."
It is with deep regret, not to say shame, that truth and justice compel
us to give in this connection any notice of this faithful and devoted
missionary's reception and treatment, on his arrival in Boston,
derogatory to the Board whom he had served so faithfully for seven
years. Instead of being received and treated as his labors justly
entitled him to be, he met the cold, calculating rebuke for unreasonable
expense, and for dangers incurred without order or instructions or
permission from the mission to come to the States. Most of his reverend
associates had, as the writer is credibly informed, disapproved of his
visit to Washington, being ignorant of the true cause of his sudden
determination to defeat, if possible, the British and Jesuitical designs
upon the country; hence, for economical and prudential reasons, the
Board received him coldly, and rebuked him for his presence before them,
causing a chill in his warm and generous heart, and a sense of unmerited
rebuke from those who should have been most willing to listen to all his
statements, and most cordial and ready to sustain him in his herculean
labors.
His request at Washington to save this richest jewel of our nation from
British rule is granted, while the American Board of Commissioners for
Foreign Missions is appealed to in vain for aid to save the Indians and
the country from becoming the boast of the Italian Jesuit, and a prey to
his degrading superstitions. The Doctor's mission, with all its
accumulated influence, labors, and importance, is left to be swallowed
up and destroyed by the same influence that had divided and destroyed
that of the Methodist Mission.
Dr. Whitman disposed of his own little private property in the States,
and, with the aid of his brother and brother's son, returned to
Missouri, joined the emigration of 1843, and, as he had intimated to
President Tyler, brought on an emigration outnumbering all the Hudson's
Bay Company had brought to aid in securing the country to the British
crown, proving to the American people and the world, what had long been
asserted as impossible, that there was a practicable wagon road to the
Pacific Ocean on American soil. His care, influence, aid, and attention
to the emigration of 1843, I leave with those who can speak from
personal observation. Their gratitude and deep sympathy for this
self-devoted, faithful, and generous missionary led five hundred of them
with uplifted hand to say they were ready with their own life-blood to
avenge his death, and protect and defend the country. But influences,
such as we have been speaking of, came in, justice was robbed of its
right, and crime and murder permitted to go unpunished.
The cause in which Dr. Whitman enlisted, labored, and fell a victim, is
allowed to suffer and fall, and in a Memorial Volume of the American
Board, page 379, a false impression is given to the world, and a whole
mission ignored. In this splendid, well-bound, and elegantly gotten up
"Memorial Half-Century Volume," justly claiming much credit for the
fifty past years of its labors, this Board has ignored all its errors
and mistakes, and with one fell swoop of the pen consigned to oblivion,
so far as its great standard record is concerned, one whole mission and
a vast Indian population, as unworthy of a name or a notice in their
record, further than as "Rev. Samuel Parker's exploring tour beyond the
Rocky Mountains, under the direction of the Board, in 1835, 1836, and
1837, brought to light _no field for a great and successful mission_,
but it added much to the science of geography, and is remarkable as
having made known a practicable route for a _railroad_ from the
Mississippi to the Pacific." This shows a want of candor and also a
disposition to ignore all influences and causes of failure of one of
their own missions, and directs the attention of the reader to foreign
objects, leaving their missions to become an easy prey to avarice, the
Indian tribes to ignorance and superstition, and their missionaries to
be despised and superseded by Jesuits; giving their enemies the benefit
of that influence which they should have exerted to save their own
missionary cause. Such being the case, we are not to wonder at the cold
reception of Dr. Whitman, or the boundless influence and avarice of the
men who compassed the early destruction of that mission; and, failing to
destroy the American settlement, that they should now seek to rob our
national treasury as they sought to rob the nation of its rightful
domain. After being defeated by the American settlers in the
organization of the provisional government in 1843, by the provisional
army of 1847-8, they now come forward with the most barefaced effrontery
and claim millions of dollars for a few old rotten forts. They have
fallen to the lowest depths of crime to obtain compensation for
improvements of no real value.
As we said when speaking of the "combination of influences and no
harmony," we believe Dr. John McLaughlin to have been one of the best
and noblest of men; yet the governing power of the Hudson's Bay Company
would, if it were possible, have compelled him to starve the immigrants,
and sacrifice all the early settlers of the country. Do you ask me how I
know this? I answer, by the oaths of good and true American citizens,
and by my own personal knowledge. These depositions or statements under
oath but few of the readers of this history will ever see. In this
connection we will give part of one deposition we listened to and
penciled down from the mouth of the witness, who was the legal counselor
and confidential friend of Dr. McLaughlin from the fall of 1846 till his
death. This witness, in answer to the inquiry as to what Dr. McLaughlin
told him about the Hudson's Bay Company's encouraging the early
settlement of Oregon, said Dr. McLaughlin _had not encouraged the
American settlement of the country_, but from the fact that immigrants
arrived poor and needy, they must have suffered had he not furnished
supplies on a credit; that he could have wished that this had not been
necessary, because he believed there were those above him who _strongly
disapproved of his course in this respect, affirming that it would lead
to the permanent settlement of the country by American citizens_, and
thus give to the United States government an element of title to the
country; the United States government could not have a title to the
country without such settlement, and these persons, thus alluded to as
being dissatisfied, would report him to the Hudson's Bay Company's house
in London; that he ascertained finally that such complaints had been
made, but that he still continued to furnish the supplies, because, _as
a man of common humanity_, he could not do otherwise; and he resolved
that he would continue thus to do and take whatever consequences might
result from it; that the company's managing and controlling office in
London did finally call him to an account for thus furnishing supplies
as already stated, and for reasons indicated; that he represented to
them the circumstances under which he had furnished these supplies,
alleging that as a man of _common humanity it was not possible for him
to do otherwise than as he did_; that he foresaw as clearly as they did
that it aided in the American settlement of the country, but that this
he could not help, and it was not for him but for God and government to
look after and take care of the consequences; that the Bible told him,
"If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he is naked, clothe him;" that
these settlers were not even enemies; that in thus finding fault with
him they quarreled with heaven (the witness said, "I do not know as that
was the exact expression or word") _for doing what any one truly worthy
the name of a man could not hesitate to do_, and that he immediately
concluded by indignantly saying, "_Gentlemen, if such is your order, I
will serve you no longer_," and from that day Oregon secured a warm and
faithful friend in that old white-headed man, and he a base and infamous
enemy in those who claimed the title of the Honorable Hudson's Bay
Company, who in 1860 are claiming all the credit and pay for this old
man's generous and noble deeds.
The readers of our history will excuse this interruption in the order of
events, or rather the introduction of this testimony at this time in our
sketches, for we shall still have to speak of Dr. McLaughlin as the head
of the Hudson's Bay Company, and continue him as a representative of
that influence, as also connected with the Roman Catholic efforts in the
country; for while we condemn and speak of base and infamous acts in
all alike, we will not forget the good and the noble. We have other
items of testimony that reveal to us the deep-laid plans, the vast
influence used, and efforts made, _to prevent the American settlement of
this country_, which shall be brought to light as we proceed.
One other item we will now give as developed by the testimony above
referred to. Dr. McLaughlin informed his attorney "that he had proposed
to the company's authority in London, that if they would allow him to
retain the profits upon the supplies and advances made as above
mentioned to the settlers, he would very cheerfully personally assume
the payment to the company of all the sums thus advanced, but this the
company declined to do." The witness said: "My memory is not very
distinct, at least, not so much as it is as to the statement above made,
but my recollection is that he also informed me that the company,
although it refused to permit him to retain the profits above mentioned,
did hold him responsible for every dollar of the advances he made, and I
do know that he regarded and treated the debts thus owing by American
citizens as debts owing not to the Hudson's Bay Company, but to himself
individually."
Dr. McLaughlin charges ingratitude upon those who were able to, and did
not pay him, and were guilty of denouncing him as an aristocrat. He was
no aristocrat, but one of the kindest, most obliging, and familiar men;
yet his tall, erect, and noble frame, a head covered with white hair, a
long white beard, light complexion, rather spare but open countenance,
with a full light blue or gray eye, made the coward and the mean man
hate him, while the truly noble man would love him for his generous and
unbounded benevolence. Like Dr. Whitman, the influences around him
weighed heavily upon his soul; he keenly felt the pain of ingratitude in
others; he felt it from the Hudson's Bay Company, whom he had faithfully
served, and from the persons he had befriended. An attempt was made by a
member of the company, who had previously sworn to the justness of their
infamous claims, to excite the sectarian prejudice of the witness
against Dr. McLaughlin on his cross-examination, by handing to the
company's attorney the following questions to be asked the witness:--
_Ques._--"Do you not recollect that Dr. McLaughlin told you that
Sir George Simpson's complaint against him was his allowing a
credit of ten thousand pounds sterling to Bishop Blanchet, of the
Catholic mission, without any security?"
_Ans._--"This is the first time I have heard of that transaction."
_Ques._--"Do you not know from what Dr. McLaughlin told you, that
he gave large credits to the Catholic Mission while in charge of
the company's business?"
_Ans._--"I do not."
In reference to the last two questions and answers, in looking over the
items of account against our government, something over this amount is
stated as an item of claim for improvements and a Catholic church
building and two schoolhouses at Vancouver, as having been made by the
Hudson's Bay Company for the Catholic missions and the benefit of the
company's business, which are still standing and in possession of the
priests and nuns of that order. This matter should be closely
investigated. We have abundance of other evidence to show the intimate
and continued connection of the Jesuit missions with the company, and we
look upon this attempt to change the responsibility of that connection
from the company to Dr. McLaughlin's individual account, as among the
basest of their transactions. The Jesuitical Catholic concern was a
child of their own, and one they are still nursing in all their vast
dominions. They made use of Dr. McLaughlin as long as they could, and
when they found he was inclined to favor the American settlement of the
country, he fell under the displeasure of his superiors and was called
to an account.
These facts explain the careful and repeated injunctions, and positive
directions given to the early missionaries not to interfere with the
Hudson's Bay Company's trade, _and by no means to encourage the
settlement of white men about their stations, compelling those white men
to become subject to, and connected with, the missions_. They also
explain the reasons for the extreme caution exercised by the company
over the supplies granted to the American missions. They invariably
limited them to the smallest possible necessity, and by this means
sought to prevent the settlement of the country. It also explains fully
the complaint of Rev. Mr. Griffin in his effort for an independent
mission, and shows conclusively the continued effort of the company to
check as much as possible the progress of the settlement, as also the
desperate effort they made in 1847 to destroy the missions and all
American settlements; and more than this, it explains the continued wars
with all the Indians who have ever been under the influence of the
company, or their _pet child, the Jesuit missions_.
The Hudson's Bay Company had no fault to find with Dr. McLaughlin,
except in his refusing to carry out their base designs upon the American
settlers and for the assistance he rendered upon his own responsibility
to the naked and starving immigrants that Grant, at Fort Hall, with the
Indians along the route, had combined to deceive and rob, while on the
way to the country. This old, white-headed man, who had served them for
forty years, _was compelled_, in maintaining his honor as a man
possessing one noble feeling of humanity, to leave their service.
What think you, kind reader, of the Hudson's Bay Company's kindness and
generosity to the American settler, when this same company held this old
faithful servant of theirs individually responsible for every dollar,
principal and profits, of the supplies his generous heart, claiming to
be humane, was induced to advance to the early settler in the hour of
his greatest need?
Will you vote and pay a tax to pay claims of such a company, when one of
the managing partners is still base enough to say, "It was a neglect of
the company's agent, after Dr. McLaughlin's decease, that they did not
present their accounts for payment to the doctor's heirs or
administrator before the year's notice was up. It was now too late, and
it was lost to the company unless they could get it allowed by the
United States government?"
We justly deprecate piracy, slavery, highway robbery, and Indian
massacres. In what light shall we hold a company and government, who
have pursued a course directly and indirectly calculated to produce all
these, and with the uplifted hand say they are entitled to pay for such
conduct?
But we must still refer to Dr. McLaughlin as representing the Hudson's
Bay Company, as we proceed with our history of events, agencies, men,
and things occurring in 1843.
Dr. Whitman is on his way back to Oregon with eight hundred and
seventy-five persons, with all their equipments and cattle. Simpson is
foiled and disappointed at Washington. Hines and Dr. White are among the
Upper Columbia Indians. Dr. McLaughlin and the French-Canadians and
priests are in commotion about the effort to organize the settlement
into a provisional government, and the influence the Americans appear to
be gaining over the Indians. Piopiomoxmox (Yellow Serpent) has returned
and reported to the Cayuses the result of his visit to Dr. McLaughlin,
and the determination of the company that, in case of a war with the
Americans, "_they would not aid the Americans_, but let them take care
of themselves." The old Indian chiefs had advised the young men to wait
and see what the future designs of the Americans were; while the Jesuits
had been careful to impress upon the savage mind their peculiar
sectarian notions and prejudices, as illustrated by the religious
instructions given by the priests to the Cayuses.
The Rev. H. K. W. Perkins called at Young Chief's (Tawatowe) lodge, and
was informed on entering, that they had not yet had their morning
prayer. The chief caused a bell to be rung, at the sound of which all
his band came together for devotion. Tawatowe then said to Mr. Perkins:
"We are Catholics, and our worship is different from yours." He then
fell upon his knees, all the rest kneeling and facing him. The chief had
a long string of beads on his neck to which was attached a brass cross.
After all were knelt, they devoutly crossed themselves, and commenced
their prayer as follows: "We are poor, we are poor," repeating it ten
times, and then closing with "Good Father, good Son, good Spirit," and
then the chief would slip a bead on the string. This was continued until
all the beads were removed from one part of the string to the other.
When this mock devotion closed, Tawatowe said: "This is the way in which
the priest taught us to worship God;" but Elijah (a boy that had been
educated at the Methodist Indian school) said that "Tawatowe and his
band prayed from the head, but we [meaning his own Wallawalla tribe]
pray from the heart."
Since writing the above, we have found in the _Missionary Herald_ of
December, 1866, page 371, a letter from Rev. C. Eells, formerly of the
Spokan Mission. In speaking of Dr. Whitman's visit to the States, he
says: "Mr. Walker and myself were decidedly opposed, and we yielded only
when it became evident that he would go, even if he became disconnected
with the mission in order to do so. According to the understanding of
the members of the mission, the single object of Dr. Whitman in
attempting to cross the continent in the winter of 1842-43, amid mighty
perils and sufferings, was to make a desperate effort to save this
country to the United States."
We are not much surprised at Mr. Eells' ignorance of influences
operating in this country. His fears and caution have made him
unreasonably timid. He is always so fearful that he will do or say
something wrong, that the saving of this country to our government, and
an attempt on the part of his associates to counteract Roman Catholic
superstitions and maintain the influence of the Protestant religion on
our western coast, are opposed by him and his equally timid associate.
He has not the frankness or courage to state the whole truth in the
case, as developed in Mr. Treat's remarks, who, after giving Mr. Eells'
letter, says: "_It was not simply an American question, however_;" it
was at the same time a Protestant question. He [Dr. Whitman] was fully
alive to the efforts which the Roman Catholics were making to gain the
mastery on the Pacific coast, and he was firmly persuaded that they were
working in the interests of the Hudson's Bay Company, with a view to
this very end. The danger from this quarter [which Messrs. Eells and
Walker could never see, or, if they did, were too timid to speak or act]
had made a profound impression upon his mind. Under date of April 1,
1847, he said: "In the autumn of 1842, I pointed out to our mission the
arrangements of the Papists to settle in our vicinity, and that it only
required that those arrangements should be completed to close our
operations."
It is in reference to the facts above quoted from Dr. Whitman's
letter--made in our presence to those timid associates--that we say they
were cowards in not speaking and acting as they should have done at that
time, and since his death.
The following letter from General A. L. Lovejoy gives further proof of
Dr. Whitman's efforts to save Oregon to his country:--
PORTLAND, OREGON, November 6, 1869.
_William H. Gray, Esq.:_
MY DEAR SIR,--Your note of the 27th ult., making inquiries touching
the journey of the late Dr. Marcus Whitman to the United States
from this coast in the winter of 1842 and '43, and his reception at
Washington, and by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign
Missions, etc., has but just come to hand, owing to my being absent
from home.
True, I was the traveling companion of the Doctor in that arduous
and trying journey, but at this late hour it will be almost
impossible for me to give many of the thrilling scenes and
hairbreadth escapes that we went through, traveling as we did,
almost the entire route, through a hostile Indian country, as well
as suffering much from the intense cold and snows that we had to
encounter in passing over the Rocky Mountains in midwinter.
Previous to our leaving Wailatpu, I often had conversations with
the Doctor touching the prospects of this coast. The Doctor was
alive to its interests, and manifested a very warm desire to have
this country properly represented at Washington, and, after some
arrangements, we left Wailatpu, October 3, 1842, overland, for the
Eastern States.
We traveled rapidly, and reached Fort Hall in eleven days, and
remained only a day or two and made some few purchases; took a
guide and left for Fort Wintee, as the Doctor changed from a direct
route to one more southern through the Spanish country, _via_ Taos
and Santa Fé. On our way from Fort Hall to Fort Wintee we met with
terribly severe weather; the snows greatly retarded our progress,
and blinded the trail, so much so that we lost much time. After
reaching Fort Wintee and making some suitable purchases for our
trip, we took a new guide and started on our journey for Fort
Macumpagra, situate on the waters of Grand River, in the Spanish
country.
Here again our stay was very short. We simply made some few
purchases, took a new guide, and left for Taos. After being out
some four or five days, as we were passing over high table-lands,
we encountered a most terrific snow-storm, which forced us to seek
shelter at once. A deep ravine being near by, we rapidly made for
it, but the snow fell so rapidly, and the wind blew with such
violence, that it was almost impossible to reach it. After reaching
the ravine, and cutting some cotton-wood trees for our animals, we
attempted some arrangements for camp as best we could under the
circumstances, and remained snowed in for some three or four days,
when the storm subsided, and it cleared off intensely cold. It was
with much difficulty that we made our way up upon the high lands;
the snow was so deep and the wind so piercing and cold, that we
felt compelled to return to camp and wait a few days for a change
of weather.
Our next effort was more successful, and after spending several
days wandering round in the snow, without making much headway, and
greatly fatiguing our animals, to little or no purpose, our guide
informed us that the deep snows had so changed the face of the
country, that he was completely lost, and could take us no further.
This was a terrible blow to the Doctor. He was determined not to
give it up without another effort. And we at once agreed that the
Doctor should take the guide and make his way back to the fort, and
procure a new guide, and that I should remain in camp with the
animals until his return, which was on the seventh day, with a new
guide.
We were soon under way, on our route, traveling through the snows
at rather a snail's pace. Nothing occurred of much importance,
other than hard and slow traveling until we reached, as our guide
informed us, the Grand River, which was frozen, on either side,
about one-third across. The current was so very rapid, that the
center of the stream remained open, although the weather was
intensely cold.
This stream was some one hundred and fifty, or two hundred yards
wide, and looked upon by our guide as very dangerous to cross in
its present condition. But the Doctor, nothing daunted, was the
first to take the water. He mounted his horse, and the guide and
myself pushed them off the ice into the boiling, foaming stream.
Away they went completely under water--horse and all; but directly
came up, and after buffeting the waves and foaming current, he made
to the ice on the opposite side, a long way down the stream--leaped
from his horse upon the ice, and soon had his noble animal by his
side. The guide and myself forced in the pack animals; followed the
doctor's example, and were soon drying our frozen clothes by a
comfortable fire.
With our new guide, traveling slowly on, we reached Taos in about
thirty days. We suffered considerably from cold and scarcity of
provisions, and for food were compelled to use the flesh of mules,
dogs, and such other animals as came in our reach.
We remained at Taos some twelve or fifteen days, when we changed
off our animals, and made such purchases as our journey required,
and left for Bent's Fort, on the headwaters of the Arkansas River,
where we arrived about the third day of January, 1843.
The Doctor left here on the 7th, at which time we parted, and I did
not meet him again until some time in the month of July, above Fort
Laramie, on his way to Oregon with a train of emigrants.
The Doctor often expressed himself to me about the remainder of his
journey, and the manner in which he was received at Washington and
by the Board of Missions at Boston.
The Doctor had several interviews with President Tyler, Secretary
Webster, and many members of Congress, touching the interests of
Oregon. He urged the immediate termination of the treaty with Great
Britain relative to this country, and the extension of the laws of
the United States, and to provide liberal inducements to emigrants
to come to this coast.
He felt much chagrined at the lack of interest, and the great want
of knowledge concerning Oregon, and the wants of this country,
though he was very cordially and kindly received, and many seemed
anxious to obtain every information which he could give them; and I
have no doubt, the Doctor's interviews resulted greatly to the
benefit of Oregon and the entire coast.
But his reception at Boston was not so cordial. The Board censured
him for leaving his post, for the waste of time and the great
expense attending so long a journey across the continent at that
season of the year.
The Doctor returned to the frontier settlements, urging the
citizens to emigrate to the Pacific coast. After his exertions in
this behalf, he left for Independence, Missouri, and started for
Oregon with a large emigrant train some time in the month of May.
With his energy and knowledge of the country, he rendered them very
great assistance, and continued to do so, till he reached his home
about the first of October (one year from the time he left), to
find the home of his choice sadly neglected, and the flouring mill
burned to the ground.
The Indians were very hostile about the Doctor's leaving at the
time he did, and I have no doubt, that during his absence, the
thistles of his destruction--the seeds of that awful massacre of
himself, Mrs. Whitman, and many others--were then sown by those
haughty and savage Cayuses, although it did not take place till
four years afterward.
As to your fourth inquiry relative to the Cayuse war. It is a long
time since these events took place; and most of them are on record,
and have passed into the history of the country; so that I would
not like to make many statements from memory, although I was an
adjutant-general, and was also one of the commissioners to raise
means to equip the first company, which was dispatched to the
Dalles the day after the sad news of the massacre reached Oregon
City.
There being no supplies at Oregon City suitable to fit out this
company, the commissioners proceeded at once to Fort Vancouver to
procure supplies for an outfit. The Hudson's Bay Company refused to
let us have any thing on account of the government; but would on
our joint and several note, to the amount of $1,000, which was
cheerfully given, and the outfit was obtained, and the company was
pushed on to its destination, and reached the Dalles in time to
prevent further bloodshed at that place by the red devils.
Yours, with great respect,
A. L. LOVEJOY.
W. H. GRAY, Esq., Astoria, Oregon.
CHAPTER XLII.
Assembly of the Nez Percés, Cayuses, and Wallawallas.--Mock
fight.--Council with the Indians.--Speeches by Yellow Serpent,
Tilokaikt, the Prince, and Illutin.--The secret of the whole
difficulty.--John, the Kanaka.--A cow for a horse.--Killing of a
medicine woman.
We will return to Rev. Mr. Hines' narrative of his trip among the
Cayuses, May 22, 1843.
"As the Indians refused to come together unless Ellis and his men
came down to meet us, we informed them that we would go up and see
Ellis in his own country; but being suspicious that we intended to
prevent his coming down, they were much opposed to our going.
Explaining to the chiefs the object of our visit, they seemed to be
satisfied."
We have, in this short statement of Mr. Hines, an important fact. The
Cayuse Indians had been instructed what to do; they were not to be
diverted by any arrangements of the sub-agent. Notwithstanding, the
agent and Mr. Hines had learned that Ellis was coming with several
hundred warriors, they knew not for what purpose, some saying to make
war upon the Cayuses, and they had determined to prevent the meeting of
the two tribes if possible. During their absence the Cayuses all
collected not far from Dr. Whitman's, and were waiting the arrival of
the Nez Percés. On the 22d of May the Nez Percés, some six hundred
strong, with a thousand horses, arrived on the plain. Some three hundred
of the Cayuses and Wallawallas uniting formed a grand Indian cavalcade
on the plain in front of Dr. Whitman's house, when a grand display of
Indian horsemanship commenced, such as advancing in mock fantastic
fight, with discharges of blank cartridges, wheeling and running in all
directions, till the Indians had nearly worked themselves into a real
fight and a great excitement. Ellis said that he thought the Cayuses
were determined to have a fight in earnest.
Tawatowe, the _Catholic_ chief, as he approached them appeared quite
angry and disposed to quarrel. Seeing the excitement increasing, and
fearing that it might end seriously unless the attention of the Indians
could be drawn to some other subject, Mr. Spalding, who was present,
gave notice that all would repair to Dr. Whitman's house for
_tallapooso_ (worship). But Tawatowe came forward in a very boisterous
manner and inquired what we had made all this disturbance for. The
American party, followed by several hundred Indians, repaired to the
station and engaged in religious exercises, when the excitement subsided
for the night.
On May 23, the chiefs and principal men of the three tribes assembled at
the station to hear what the self-constituted United States Indian
commissioner and his secretary of state had to say.
"They were called to order by Tawatowe, who by this time had got over
his excitement, and then was placed before them the object of our visit.
They were told that much had been said about war, and we had come to
assure them that they had nothing to fear from that quarter." If Dr.
White was no more explicit in setting forth the object of this visit to
the Indians than Mr. Hines is in giving the account of it, there
certainly was room for a misunderstanding between him and the Indians.
He said "the President of the United States had not sent him [Dr. White]
to make war upon them, but to enter into arrangements with them to
regulate their intercourse with the white people. We were not there to
catch them in a trap, as a man would a beaver, but to do them good; and
if they would lay aside their former practices and prejudices, stop
their quarrels, cultivate their lands, and receive good laws, they might
become a great and happy people; that in order to do this _they must all
be united_." Exactly what the Hudson's Bay Company wished to have done
to aid them in crushing the American settlement and preventing further
American emigration to the country.
As a reason for their being united, Mr. Hines says, 178-9th pages:
"They were told they were few in comparison to the whites, and if
they were not all of one heart they would be able to accomplish
nothing. The chiefs should set the example and love each other, and
not get proud and haughty, but consider the people as their brothers
and their children, and labor to do them good, that the people
should be obedient, and in their morning and evening prayers they
should remember their chiefs.
"Ellis remarked that it would not be proper for the Nez Percé chiefs
to speak until the Cayuse people should receive the laws. The Cayuse
chiefs replied: 'If you want us to receive the laws, bring them
forward and let us see them, as we can not take them unless we know
what they are.'
"A speech was then delivered to the young men to impress them
favorably with regard to the laws. They were told that they would
soon take the places of the old men, and they should be willing to
act for the good of the people; that they should not go here and
there and spread false reports about war; and that this had been
the cause of all the difficulty and excitement that had prevailed
among them during the past winter."
With the information which Mr. Hines has already given us in the first
part of his ninth chapter, we would suppose he would avoid this
apparently incorrect statement to the Indians of the cause of the
difficulties then existing. He and Dr. White appear to have acted under
the same influence with Dr. McLaughlin, and to have carried all their
acts and counsels to the one object, which was to combine the Indians,
and divide and destroy the settlement. He tells us, in continuation of
the proceedings of this council, that "the laws were then read, first in
English, and then in Nez Percé."
"Yellow Serpent then rose and said: 'I have a message to you. Where
are these laws from? I would that you might say they were from God.
But I think they are from the earth, because, from what I know of
white men [a term claimed by Brouillet as belonging to the Hudson's
Bay Company and Frenchmen], they do not honor these laws.' In answer
to this, the people were informed that the laws were recognized by
God, and imposed on men in all civilized countries. Yellow Serpent
was pleased with the explanation, and said that it was according to
the instructions he had received from others, and he was glad to
learn that it was so, because many of his people had been angry with
him when he had whipped them for crime, and had told him that God
would send him to hell for it, and he was glad to know that it was
pleasing to God.
"Tilokaikt, a Cayuse chief, rose and said: 'What do you read the
laws for before we take them? We do not take the laws because
Tawatowe says so. He is a _Catholic_, and as a people we do not
follow his worship.' Dr. White replied that this did not make any
difference about the law; that the people in the States had
different modes of worship, yet all had one law.
"A chief, called the Prince, arose and said: 'I understand you gave
us liberty to examine every law,--all the words and lines,--and as
questions are asked about it, we should get a better understanding
of it. The people of this country have but one mind about it. I have
something to say, but perhaps the people will dispute me. As a body,
we have not had an opportunity to consult, therefore you come to us
as in a wind, and speak to us as to the air, as we have no point,
and we can not speak because we have no point before us. The
business before us is whole like a body; we have not dissected it.
And perhaps you will say it is out of place for me to speak, because
I am not a great chief. Once I had influence, but now I have but
little.'"
This was one of the principal chiefs of the tribe that assisted in
taking Fort Wallawalla and tying Mr. Pambrun to compel him to give more
goods for horses and furs. "He was about to sit down, but was told to go
on. He then said: 'When the whites first came among us, we had no
cattle; they have given us none; what we have now got we have obtained
by an exchange of property. A long time ago Lewis and Clarke came to
this country, and I want to know what they said about us. Did they say
they found friends or enemies here?' Being told that they spoke well of
the Indians, the Prince said: 'That is a reason why the whites should
unite with us, and all become one people. Those who have been here
before you have left us no memorial of their kindness, by giving us
presents. We speak by way of favor; if you have any benefit to bestow,
we will then speak more freely. One thing that we can speak about is
cattle, and the reason why we can not speak out now is because we have
not the thing before us. My people are poor and blind, and we must have
something tangible. Other chiefs have bewildered me since they came; yet
I am from an honorable stock. Promises which have been made to me and my
fathers have not been fulfilled, and I am made miserable; but it will
not answer for me to speak out, for my people do not consider me as
their chief.' [This was just what Mr. Pambrun, of the Hudson's Bay
Company, had done to this Indian chief to break his power and destroy
his influence with his tribe and his people. But let us hear him
through.] 'One thing more; you have reminded me of what was promised me
some time ago, and I am inclined to follow on and see, though I have
been giving my beaver to the whites and have received many promises, and
have always been disappointed; I want to know what you are going to do?'
"Illutin, or Big Belly, then arose and said that the old men were
wearied with the wickedness of the young men; that if he was alone he
could say 'Yes' at once to the laws, and that the reason why the young
men did not feel as he felt, was because they had stolen property in
their hands, and the laws condemned stealing. But he assured them that
the laws were calculated to do them good and not evil.
"But this did not satisfy the Prince. He desired that the good which it
was proposed to do them by adopting the laws might be put in a tangible
form before them.
"He said that it had been a long time since the country had been
discovered by whites, and that ever since that time people had been
coming along promising to do them good; but they had all passed by and
left no blessing behind them."
This chief said that "the Hudson's Bay Company had persuaded them to
continue with them, and not go after the Americans; that if the
Americans designed to do them good, why did they not bring goods with
them to leave with the Indians? that they were fools to listen to what
_Suapies_ (Americans) had to say; that they would only talk, but the
company would _both talk and give them presents_."
This Indian, as his speech shows, was shrewd, and thought he was certain
to obtain his object, either from the Hudson's Bay Company or the
Americans. He had been humbled by the company, and an offer to buy him
back had been made. He bid for a higher price with the Americans. In
doing so, he naturally exposed the secret influence of the company,
which is given in this book of Mr. Hines', as a matter of course, and he
passes along without note or comment upon what he saw, and heard.
"In reply to the last Indian speech, Dr. White told the Indians that he
did not come to them as a missionary or as a trader."
To Ellis and Lawyer, who called on them in the evening to have a talk,
"they said they expected pay for being chiefs, and wanted to know how
much salary Dr. White was going to give them. Ellis said he had counted
the months he had been in office, and thought that enough was due him to
make him rich. They left at a late hour without receiving any
satisfaction. In the council, efforts were made to induce the Nez Percés
to unite under one chief in the fall of 1842. Thomas McKay had promised
these chiefs large salaries and many presents that Dr. White and his
government would give them as an inducement to form a union, knowing
that White had not the ability or means to make good his promises to
them, and in this way any influence as an agent of the American
government he might have would be lost in this tribe.
"Ellis was a Hudson's Bay Indian, educated at the Red River settlement.
They left this private interview with White without any satisfaction,
showing that the policy of the company was producing its legitimate
effect upon Ellis's mind. The Lawyer, however, understood the matter in
its true light. He explained to us the whole transaction, and the
promises of McKay from the company. He thought Dr. White was foolish to
let McKay talk so much for him and the American government.
"Some hundreds again assembled the next day (May 24) to renew the
business relative to laws; but the first thing investigated was the
shooting of John, the Kanaka, by the Indian. John had gone to a lodge
the day before, and in a dispute in a trade he had dared the Indian to
shoot him. The Indian had seized his gun and fired it at John's head,
making considerable of a hole in the scalp, but none in the skull. The
Indian fled, but was brought back and found guilty and kept till the
laws were adopted for sentence and punishment, and finally punished with
forty lashes on the bare back.
"The Indians continued to speak in reference to the laws. Their speeches
were grave, energetic, mighty, and eloquent, and generally in favor of
receiving the laws. After all had spoken it was signified that they were
ready to vote whether they would take the laws or not, and the vote was
unanimous in the affirmative. Having adopted the laws, it was now
necessary to elect their chief, according to the provisions of the laws,
and Tawatowe was nominated to the highest chieftainship. Some were
opposed; a majority were in favor, and while the question was pending
[this Indian had not consulted his priest, or he would have declined at
once on this first proposition to elect him chief], Tawatowe arose and
said, 'My friends, I rise to speak to you, and I want you all to
listen.' He then adverted to his past history, and told them how much he
had suffered in consequence of their divisions and quarrels. Tawatowe
joined his influence with the Prince to get more pay from the Hudson's
Bay Company for horses and furs, hence his tribe were encouraged to
quarrel with and disrespect him. When we first arrived in the country he
was seldom invited to the fort, and received no presents from the
company. He inquired of his people if they would lay aside all their
past difficulties and come up and support him if he would accept of the
chieftainship.
"It was now time to close for the day, and the vote being put, Tawatowe
was declared duly elected to the high chieftainship of the Cayuse tribe.
"Dr. White bought of Mrs. Whitman a fat ox and presented it to the
Indians. Mrs. W. gave them a fat hog, which they butchered and feasted
upon at night.
"May 25.--A number of the chiefs came early in the morning at Mr. Hines'
request, to settle a difficulty concerning some horses which they gave
to Rev. Jason Lee when he first came to Oregon in 1834, Mr. Lee having
requested Mr. Hines to come to some arrangement with them if possible.
After a long talk we succeeded in settling with them by proposing to
give them a cow for each horse that they had given to Mr. Lee. We found
that the Indians always expected to be well paid for a present."
The Jesuit missionaries and the Hudson's Bay Company had represented to
the Indians that Mr. Lee's receiving their horses and not making them
any presents was the same as stealing from them, and in this way the
American missionary was regarded as having stolen the Indians' horses.
In the conversations and talks the Indians had with Dr. Whitman about
the land the mission occupied, the horses given to Mr. Lee were
generally mentioned. Dr. Whitman was anxious that some arrangement
should be made to settle that matter as soon as he learned the facts in
the case. The Indians, as per arrangement with Mr. Hines, did receive a
cow for each horse given, and thus the matter was satisfactorily
settled.
The Indians having again assembled, Tawatowe came forward and said that
he had made up his mind that he could not accept of the chieftainship,
in consequence of the _difference of his religion_ from that of most of
his people.
Here is Jesuitism and Hudson's Bay, combined with ignorance and
religious bigotry, and shows the influence then operating upon the
savage mind. This Indian declared a reason why he could not accept the
chieftainship, which, four years later, would have fixed at once a crime
upon that sect, without a shadow of doubt in their favor. As it was, the
plan was deeper, and a Protestant Indian, or one that favored the
Protestant cause and American missions, a younger brother of Tawatowe is
selected. Tawatowe resigned, and his brother Five Crows is elected the
American head chief of the Cayuse tribe, with the approval of the
sub-agent of the United States. Bear these facts in mind as we proceed,
that you may fully understand the deep-laid plots of the foreign
influence then operating in the country to secure the whole or a large
portion of it for themselves and their own government.
In connection with this we will give one other incident as related by
Mr. Hines on his tour among the Indians; to show the shrewdness, as also
the long premeditated baseness of the Hudson's Bay Company in their
efforts to get rid of all American missionaries and settlers, and to
bring on a war with the Indians. Mr. Hines and party returned to the
Dalles, and from there Mr. Hines embarked on one of the Hudson's Bay
Company's boats with Mr. Ogden for Vancouver. A short distance below the
Dalles they were driven ashore by a wind storm. While there, Mr. Ogden
told the following story of the killing of a medicine woman, or
doctress:--
"Mr. Ogden related some of his wonderful adventures among the
Indians, with whom he had resided more than thirty years. He was an
eye-witness to a remarkable circumstance that transpired at the
Dalles during one of his voyages up the Columbia.
"He arrived at the Dalles on the Sabbath day, and seeing a
congregation of some three hundred Indians assembled not far from
the river, he drew near to ascertain the cause, and found the Rev.
H. K. W. Perkins dispensing to them the word of reconciliation
through a crucified Redeemer. There was in the outskirts of the
congregation an Indian woman who had been for many years a doctress
in the tribe, and who had just expended all her skill upon a
patient, the only son of a man whose wigwam was not far distant, and
for whose recovery she had become responsible by consenting to
become his physician. All her efforts to remove the disease were
unavailing; the father was doomed to see his son expire. Believing
that the doctress had the power of preserving life or inflicting
death according to her will, and that instead of curing she had
killed his boy, he resolved upon the most summary revenge. Leaving
his dead son in the lodge, he broke into the congregation with a
large butcher-knife in his hand, and, rushing upon the now terrified
doctress, seized her by the hair, and with one blow across her
throat laid her dead at his feet."
This story is a very plausible one, as much so as the one Mr. Hines
tells us on the 110th page of his book, about Smith, Sublet, and
Dripse's partner. There is an object in telling this story at this time
to Mr. Hines, as much so as there was in a letter written by James
Douglas, Esq., to S. N. Castle, Esq., and published in the March number
of the _Friend_, at Honolulu, Sandwich Islands, which we will give in
due time.
The reader will observe in these sketches that our effort has been to
speak of all the principal events and prominent and prospective
influences in our early history, as in the year in which they occurred.
In attending to other duties we have not been able to keep as close to
dates and chronological order as we could wish; still, with patience and
perseverance we can restore the "lost history" of our early settlement
upon this coast, so that the future historian can have the material
before him for an interesting chapter in the history of our country.
We have, in addition to personal and public duties, to wade through an
immense amount of what is called Oregon history, to gather up dates and
events that have been given to the public at different times, without
order, or apparent object, only to write a book on Oregon. We have no
hesitancy in saying that Rev. G. Hines has given to the public the
fullest and best book, and yet there is but a single chapter that is
useful to the historian.
Rev. Samuel Parker has many scientific and useful statements and
observations, but all come in before our civil history began to develop
itself.
CHAPTER XLIII.
The Legislative Committee of nine.--Hon. Robert Moore,
chairman.--Description of the members.--Minutes of their
proceedings.--Dr. R. Newell, his character.--Two specimens of his
speeches.--The dark clouds.
In 1843 the people of Oregon showed signs of life, and sprang into
existence as an American Territory with their provisional government,
which we have allowed to be silently forming in the Wallamet Valley,
while we have traced the operations of the Hudson's Bay Company, and Dr.
Whitman to Washington; and also Dr. White and Mr. Hines among the
Indians, all over the country. This will enable the reader to understand
the strong influences operating against the American settlement; and if
he will go with us, we will introduce him to the first Legislative
Committee of nine, and tell him just what we know of their proceedings
all through their deliberations.
The record shows no instruction from the settlers, as to when or where
the committee should meet to prepare the laws, to report at Champoeg,
only, that they were limited to six days, and to be allowed $1.25 per
day, and that the money be raised by subscription. Every member at once
subscribed to the full amount of his own per diem pay, and in addition
to this, Mr. Alanson Beers, Rev. J. L. Parish, and Dr. Babcock
subscribed the full amount of the board of the whole nine, and the
Methodist Mission furnished without charge the use of their granary at
the old mission, as the first council chamber on this western coast. The
building was a frame some sixteen by thirty feet, one and a half stories
high, boards upright, with one square room in front, and the balance
used for a granary, from which it derived its name; the upper part was
for storing and sleeping use. The square room was used for schoolhouse
and church, and now, for a legislative hall.
We will enter this hall and introduce you to an old gray-headed man with
a fair complexion, bald head, light eye, full face, frequent spasmodic
nodding forward of the head, and a large amount of self-importance, not
very large intellectual developments, with a superabundance of flesh,
sitting by a square-legged table or stand, in a chair with square posts,
and strips of rawhide for bottom; dressed in fustian pants, large blue
vest, and striped shirt, and a common brown coat, who, on motion of Mr.
Hill, was chosen Speaker of the House, and hereafter will be known in
our history as Hon. Robert Moore, Esq.
The first difficulty the committee found was to organize a government
without an executive. They could organize a legislative body, and
appoint all the committees and officers and draft all the laws
necessary, but the folly and absurdity of the effort without an
executive, was so apparent, that the first thing decided upon, was,
Shall we have an executive head, called a governor, or a committee with
executive powers! This was a difficult question, under all the votings
and the discussions that had taken place. The committee were fully aware
of all the opposition they must contend with. The judgeship had passed
by vote of the people at Champoeg from a member of the Methodist Mission
to Mr. A. E. Wilson, an intelligent, unassuming, and excellent young
man, who came to the country in the employ of Mr. Cushing, and had
become a settler.
The committee were well assured that they could eventually secure the
Methodist Mission influence, yet at this time it was extremely doubtful,
and they feared that it would, as in the previous effort of 1841, go
against them, with that of the Catholic Mission and the Hudson's Bay
Company. An executive committee consisting of three men would form a
council that could act in any emergency, and at the same time enable the
Methodist Mission to be represented by one of their members in the
Executive Council.
Alanson Beers was a good, honest, faithful, and intelligent Christian
man, acting with heart and soul with the interests of the settlement and
the American cause. The settlers could rely upon him.
David Hill was a resident of Hillsborough, Tualatin Plains, and was
known to be decidedly opposed to the company, and not any too favorable
to the Catholic and Methodist missions. He could be relied upon so far
as the outside settlers were concerned, and Robert Newell could
represent the Rocky Mountain men and such of the Canadian-French
Hudson's Bay Company, and Roman Catholics as were disposed to join our
organization. It was in consequence of his contending so strongly for
the Hudson's Bay Company's rights, interests, and privileges, at
Champoeg, on the 5th of July, that he was dropped, and Joseph Gale (who
was one of the Ewing Young party to bring cattle from California to the
Wallamet settlement) elected in his place.
With the understanding as above indicated, the Legislative Committee,
consisting of Hon. Robert Moore, David Hill, Robert Shortess, Alanson
Beers, W. H. Gray, Thomas J. Hubbard, James A. O'Neil, Robert Newell,
and William Dougherty, with the uplifted hand solemnly declared before
God that they would faithfully perform the duties assigned them by the
people of this settlement, at Champoeg, on the 2d day of May, A.D.
1843, so far as they understood the duties thus assigned them. W. H.
Gray then by request administered an oath to the Speaker elect, that he
would faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of his office as
presiding officer of the present appointed Legislative Committee of the
people of Oregon, so help you God; to which Beers said, Amen. The
question arose as to the appointment of a clerk for the committee, when
the members agreed, if necessary, to pay his expenses per diem, if no
other means were provided.
George W. Le Breton, a young man of active mind, ready with the pen,
useful and agreeable, and practical in his conversation, having come to
the country as an adventurer in a vessel with Captain Couch, was chosen
secretary and duly qualified by the Speaker. The records of the
proceedings, as published, seem to have left out the preliminary part of
this Legislative Committee's proceedings. This is owing to the fact that
the compiler had no personal knowledge of them, and perhaps sought
information from those as ignorant of the facts as himself; hence the
meager and unsatisfactory document given to the country. Most, or all of
the proceedings thus far mentioned were with closed doors, as will be
seen by the record published. It was not deemed important by Messrs.
Newell, O'Neil, and Hubbard, to have any record of our daily
proceedings, only the result or report. Messrs. Shortess, Beers, Gray,
Dougherty, and Hill thought it best to keep a record, which was
commenced.
"WALLAMET, May 15, 1843.--The Legislative Committee met, and after
the preliminary discussions above alluded to, came to order by
electing Robert Moore, Esq., chairman, and G. W. Le Breton,
secretary.
"On motion of W. H. Gray, a committee of three was appointed by the
chairman to prepare rules and business for the house. This committee
(Messrs. Gray, Shortess, and Newell), at once, in a hasty manner,
prepared eight rules, and suggested the business proposed for the
committee as a whole to perform. The rules were taken up and adopted
with scarcely a single objection. Up to this time no one except
members of the committee had been allowed a place in the house as
spectators.
"On motion, it was decided that the committee sit with open doors.
O'Neil, Hubbard, and Dougherty favored the closed-door sessions, as
they did not want to expose their ignorance of making laws. Newell
thought we had better make as little display as possible, for it
would all be known, and we might be ashamed of what we had done.
"Shortess, Hill, Gray, and Beers were willing that all our efforts
to make laws for ourselves should be fully known, and were ready to
receive instructions and advice from any source. The deliberations
of the committee, they were confident, would not prevent opposition
or aid the opposers of our proposed organization.
"On motion, a judiciary committee was appointed by the Speaker or
chairman, consisting of Messrs. Beers, Hubbard, and Shortess.
"On motion, a committee of ways and means was appointed, consisting
of Messrs. Shortess, O'Neil, and Dougherty."
The minutes at this stage show that there was a doubt as to the
disposition of the Speaker, Mr. Moore, to place the best men as chairmen
of the several committees. Mr. Moore had peculiar notions of his own
about land claims, and had placed upon the committee, I think, Robert
Newell, as favoring his and Dr. McLaughlin's pretensions to the entire
water privileges at Wallamet Falls, which resulted in the appointment as
above stated. The record seems to convey the idea that the first
appointment was conferred by vote. This was not the case. It was the
final action that was repeated and entered.
"On motion, a committee, consisting of Hubbard, Newell, and Gray,
was appointed on military affairs."
We have not the original documents to refer to, but are of the
impression that considerable correction was made in the first day's
journal, and that more should have been made at the time. There was a
little feeling on the part of the Speaker and the writer as to the
necessity of an extended minute, and a disposition on the part of Mr. Le
Breton to do as little writing as possible, not for want of time and
material, but, from the deep interest he took in the discussions, he
seemed to forget his work. I am not prepared to think the compiler has
abridged the minutes, yet such may be the fact.
"On motion, Messrs. Shortess, Dougherty, and Hill were appointed a
committee on private land claims.
"On motion, Messrs. Gray, Dougherty, and Beers were appointed a
committee on districting the Territory into not to exceed five
districts."
This committee, it seems by the motion, was to be appointed by the
chairman or Speaker.
"Adjourned to 8 o'clock, A.M., May 17, 1843.
"The house was called to order by the chairman, and Mr. Gray
appointed secretary, _pro tem._ The session was then opened with
prayer by A. Beers. The minutes of yesterday's session were then
read, corrected, and accepted."
The house then adjourned for one hour and a half to prepare business, at
the expiration of which time they were called to order by the chairman.
The judiciary committee reported progress. The military committee
reported in part; also committee on districts.
"Reports accepted.
"It was moved that there be a standing committee on finance, which
was lost, as the vote at Champoeg had directed that the finance of
the government should be by subscription and voluntary contribution.
"Adjourned to 1.30 P.M.
"House called to order by Speaker.
"On motion, house went into committee of the whole upon reports of
committees, Gray in the chair. It was soon found that the business
before the committee of the whole was not in a shape to be properly
acted upon, and that by an open and informal meeting of the members,
it could be brought into shape for action, or rather that the
several members of the different committees had not had a full
expression upon the reports that were before them, and these
expressions could be shortened by separate committee consultation
and agreement among the members of the several committees; hence an
adjournment of one hour was agreed upon.
"At the close of the hour the house met and agreed, went into
committee of the whole as to the number of districts. The report of
the committee accepted, as amended in committee of the whole."
The question arises here why did not this committee on districts, and
the whole Legislative Committee, specify all north of the Columbia
River?
It will be remembered that the Hudson's Bay Company, with all the
influence and votes they, with the priests, could collect, had met the
settlers at Champoeg on the 2d of May previous, and opposed the entire
organization; and the French priest had sent to the Legislative
Committee a protest against any organization; at least the districting
committee was aware that such would be the case, as the protest already
given was in the hands of Le Breton, the secretary of the committee, and
of the whole house. In specifying the districts beyond the limits named,
or north of the Columbia, the additional votes and personal influence of
the company would be thrown against us. The district committee contended
that that influence and vote would defeat us, and make us an English or
Hudson's Bay Company settlement. We could, without the interference of
the company, manage our own affairs with such of the French settlers as
chose to remain and vote with us. Such as did not like our laws could
have a place to which they could continue their allegiance. Besides, we
were confident we should receive a large immigration in the fall, and in
that case we could extend our settlements and districts and laws to that
section of the country.
Another prominent, and perhaps the most prominent reason of all was, we
were afraid to attempt to enforce any laws we might wish to adopt, or
think necessary among ourselves, upon the servants of the company. We
did not acknowledge their right to enforce any English laws over us, and
we, as the writer thought then, and still thinks, wisely concluded if
they would not openly interfere with us, we would not openly interfere
with them, till we were strong enough to outnumber and control them, as
will hereafter be clearly demonstrated.
The journal of the proceedings of that committee shows that there were
frequent short adjournments. These moments were all occupied in
discussing and agreeing upon some report that was soon to be acted upon,
and in coming to a unanimous vote as to the final result; there was but
one thought and but one object with the majority of the members of the
Legislative Committee.
That thought and object was, to establish the provisional government
they had undertaken to organize. They felt that union in their action
was absolutely necessary, as the opposing elements were so strong, that
without it we must fail, and subject ourselves and the settlement to the
worst possible tyranny and humiliation from Dr. White and the Hudson's
Bay Company.
After the second recess, during the second day, the report of the
military committee was before the house and instructions asked. Newell
was opposed to any military arrangements at all. Hubbard was undecided.
Gray insisted on carrying out the instructions and ideas of the meeting
of the 2d of May in regard to military officers that had been appointed
at that meeting, and in preparing rules to govern them in organizing and
drilling the men. He was unwilling to leave the military power without
any responsibility to any one but themselves; hence instruction was
asked, and given, to proceed as indicated in the meeting at Champoeg,
and prepare a military law, to be included in the articles of organic
compact.
"May 18, 1843.--House met pursuant to adjournment. Session was
opened by prayer. Minutes of yesterday's session read, corrected,
and accepted.
"Robert Newell moved, and was seconded, that a committee be
appointed to prepare a paper for the signature of all persons
wishing an organization."
The reader is already informed of the appearance of the French protest,
and that it was in the possession of Le Breton. It is possible that
Newell may have received it from the French priest. The writer has never
been able to learn the exact facts in the case. At all events Newell's
resolution shows, that however willing and ready he was to commence the
organization of an American government with his _adopted_ countrymen, he
is now in doubt as to the propriety of the step he, with others, had
undertaken.
He presents a resolution to get up a committee to prepare a paper to
circulate among the people, to find out who were in favor of the
organization we were then attempting to bring into shape, under the
instructions already received.
Perhaps the reader will understand Mr. Newell better if he is more fully
informed as to his real genealogy, as there has always been a little
doubt whether he belonged to the American or British nation. From the
best information we could get about him, he was formerly from
Cincinnati, Ohio, and the Rocky Mountains. From the earliest history we
have of him, he has claimed to be an American, and represented the
interests of a foreign monopoly, under a religious belief that he was
conscientiously right in so doing. By keeping himself talking strong
American sentiments to Americans, and acting strongly anti-American
while in the mountains and in the settlement, he succeeded in obtaining
and holding positions to benefit the trade of the Hudson's Bay Company;
also a place in the Legislative Committee, and in the settler's
government, to shield and protect those who were seeking the destruction
of all American trade and influence in the country. He was a man of
quite ordinary ability, yet smooth and insinuating in his manners, with
a great abundance of plausible stories, to make a stranger believe he
was learned in a profession. His real sentiments could never be learned
except by his vote; his thoughts only read by his acts, which always
tended to complicate and confuse legislation. This probably arose from a
disposition to seek popularity and places he was incompetent to fill;
as, also, from the title he assumed in early life, it naturally made him
a hypocrite in action as well as profession. He had not the moral
principle requisite to make known the truth, and to assume his proper
position and be regarded as a plain man without a title. As plain Bob
Newell he could be respected for his natural and genial talent. As _Dr._
Newell he assumes an air to correspond with the title, and shows the
hypocrisy of his life. He was at this time, and has continued to be, a
faithful representative of the Hudson's Bay Company and Jesuit interests
in the country, for which service they should enter his name upon their
calendar of saints. As a public man, we are not aware that he ever
originated a single act or law; but as representing a clique, or the
interests of his masters, he has always been ready to do his utmost in
every possible way. At the time we were called to vote upon Mr. Newell's
first resolution, his position was fully known to but few, yet enough
was understood of his duplicity to reject his proposition at once, and
the house proceeded to amend its rules and add a ninth to those already
adopted.
The report of the military committee was recommitted with instructions
for further notion. Mr. Hubbard was considerably under the influence of
Newell, and in consequence of this fact the military rules or laws were
remodeled in committee of the whole. Newell and Hubbard were disposed to
defeat it altogether as unnecessary, as intimated in the tenth
proposition in the French priest's address. In fact, Mr. Newell acted
all through the proceedings of the Legislative Committee upon the ideas
contained in that address, and opposed all measures looking beyond the
suggestions contained in it.
At this point, the judiciary committee, consisting of Beers, Hubbard,
and Shortess, reported in part on the executive power, and opened the
eyes of Dr. Newell to the awful responsibility and to a full realization
of the fact that a majority of the committee were in favor of an
organization, and a real, actual American government. He took the floor
and commenced: "Wall, reelly now, Mr. Chairman, this 'ere report is a
stumper, I see from the report of this 'ere committee that you are going
on a little too fast. I think you had better find out if we can carry
this thing through before we go too far. We have a good many people that
don't know what we are about, and I think we had better adjourn before
we go too far."
In the midst of this speech, which was a repetition of the reasons for
getting up the paper to find out who were favorable to our proposed
government, the house was so uncourteous as to adjourn and leave the
balance of Dr. Newell's speech unrepeated. Suffice it to say, that in
those short adjournments as noted in the Oregon archives, nearly or
quite all the little differences of opinion were quickly explained and
understood by a majority of the members. The exact subjects that were
before them at the several meetings we have no documents to indicate,
and we can only be governed by such documents as we have, to wit, the
record and our own memory.
Newell was the only prominent opposer of the report of the judiciary
committee, which was prepared by Robert Shortess, to whose memory we are
indebted for a remarkable speech of Hon. Mr. Robert Newell on that
occasion. Mr. Shortess says the discussion was on the question of who
should be deemed voters. Most of the committee were in favor of
universal suffrage, and, as Dr. Newell had a native wife, naturally
supposed he would be quite as liberal as those who had full white
families; but the doctor gave us one of his "stumpers," or, as he calls
it, "_big fir-tree speeches_," by saying: "Wall, now, Mr. Speaker, I
think we have got quite high enough among the _dark clouds_; I do not
believe we ought to go any higher. It is well enough to admit the
English, the French, the Spanish, and the half-breeds, but the Indian
and the negro is a little too dark for me. I think we had better stop at
the half-breeds. I am in favor of limiting the right to vote to them,
and going no further into the dark clouds to admit the negro."
We confess that till Mr. Shortess reminded us of this speech, and the
manner of its delivery, it had escaped our memory, and that, without it,
Mr. Newell could scarcely receive his proper position in the history of
our early struggle for American liberty upon this coast. His position
and the patronage he received from the Hudson's Bay Company were
sufficient for him to work effectually in their interests through all
our struggle.
"At the evening session of May 18, the committee on ways and means
were instructed to prepare a subscription for presenting at the
general meeting, to procure funds to defray the expenses of the
government, after spending a short time in committee of the whole.
"Adjourned till next day.
"May 19, 1843.--House met pursuant to adjournment. Opened with
prayer. Moved that the minutes of the 18th be accepted. Taking the
whole subject of the organization into consideration, Gray presented
the following resolution that a committee of three be appointed to
prepare and arrange all the business that has been done, or may be
done hereafter at this session, revising statutes of Iowa, etc.,
report at the next session of the committee, and request the clerk
to copy the same.
"Resolution adopted.
"Messrs. Gray, Beers, and O'Neil were appointed; these three living
within fifteen miles of each other, it was thought could meet and
superintend and revise the whole proceedings, and get them in shape
for the public meeting.
"Committee of ways and means reported a subscription, which was
accepted, and the military committee reported in part, which was
accepted.
"Adjourned to 2 P.M.
"At 2 P.M. house met. The judiciary committee reported in full.
Report accepted."
On the 20th page of the archives, and in reference to the proviso in the
fourth article of the organic law, the record does not give us the fact.
The proviso referred to was prepared but not included in the original
act, as reported and read at Champoeg, but was adopted at Champoeg. The
report was duly referred to the revising committee, and the proviso left
in the hands of Le Breton to be withheld or presented, as the occasion
might require, in the final action of the people. The large pretensions
to lands by the Methodist and Catholic missions were fully understood by
the entire committee. They wished to curtail them as much as possible,
and were fully aware that any direct action to this end would bring the
whole influence of both missions against them.
CHAPTER XLIV.
Fourth of July, 1843.--Oration by Mr. Hines.--Meeting of July
5.--Debate on the land law.--How the Jesuits and the Hudson's Bay
Company secured their land claims.--Speech of the Rev. G. Hines
against the proposed Executive Committee.--The committee supported
by O'Neil, Shortess, and Lee.--W. H. Gray closes the debate.--The
report of the committee adopted.--Committee appointed to report to
Congress, another to make a Digest of Territorial laws, and a third
to prepare and administer an oath of office.
On the 4th of July our national anniversary was observed, and an oration
was delivered by the Rev. G. Hines. The committee favored the selection
of Mr. Hines as orator, that they might gain his views, and be ready to
meet him on the main questions that would be brought up on the fifth. In
this, however, we failed, as he dwelt principally upon the subjects of
temperance, the glorious deeds of our forefathers on the other side of
the Rocky Mountains, and the influences and blessings of the day. No
Englishman, or foreigner, could have taken any exceptions to his
sentiments or language. On the 5th, Dr. Babcock, chairman of the meeting
of May 2, being absent, the meeting was called to order by G. W. Le
Breton, one of the secretaries of the May meeting. On motion, the Rev.
Gustavus Hines was elected president of the convention by acclamation.
R. Moore, Esq., chairman of the Legislative Committee, presented his
report, which was read by Secretary Le Breton, and on motion accepted.
Rev. L. H. Judson moved that the report of the committee on ways and
means be accepted. This motion brought the land law up for discussion.
The Legislative Committee as a whole reported that law entire, to the
proviso in the fourth article. Upon the first part of that article a
discussion arose between Mr. Newell and the members of the Methodist
Mission, as to the right of any single individual to hold a claim of 640
acres upon a city or town site, or extensive water privilege. Mr. Moore
agreed with Mr. Newell on that question, as he claimed one side of the
Wallamet River at the falls, and Dr. McLaughlin the other. The
Methodist Mission also claimed a right to the east side of the Wallamet,
and the Milling Company claimed the island, upon which they were
erecting mills. Mr. Newell opposed the fourth article, to favor Dr.
McLaughlin; the Methodist Mission and Milling Company favored the
article on the ground that it secured them in their rights, and
prevented a monopoly of that water-power by any single individual. Rev.
Jason Lee was anxious to secure the rights and claims of the Methodist
Mission. So far as the water privilege and town sites were concerned,
there were no fears on the part of the committee, but in reference to
the large claims of the Methodist Mission, there were fears that Mr. Lee
and Mr. Hines would oppose our whole effort, and combine the influence
of their mission against the organization. To satisfy Rev. Jason Lee, Le
Breton presented the proviso as contained in the fourth article, which
removed his objection. The committee were well assured that the Jesuit
missions would claim the same right to land, and in this way, the one
mission would be induced to give up to curtail the other. This occurred
as anticipated, only the Methodist Mission held on to their claims, and
attempted to maintain them publicly, while the Jesuits did the same
thing silently, and by having their lands recorded in the supposed names
of their members, or priests, the same as the Hudson's Bay Company
recorded all their improvements and forts in the names of their
different servants, so as to hold them for the company; the company and
the Jesuits having, as they supposed, secured their own claims to land
in the name of their respective servants, joined with the new
immigrants, in condemning the large pretensions of the Methodist
Mission, and in this way prejudiced the minds of the settlers against it
for doing, openly, just what they had done in the names of their
servants, secretly.
On the final vote there were but few dissenting voices, except upon the
adoption of the proviso. It may be asked why the land law was brought up
first. The minutes as recorded on the twenty-third and twenty-fourth
pages of the Oregon archives, show that Mr. Judson moved the adoption of
the report of the committee on ways and means. This was all the minute
that was made, as the business and discussion progressed. The report on
the land law was deemed, by the committee, to be of the first
importance, as all were personally interested in the law about land
claims; and upon the discussion of that report, they could learn the
result of the whole effort, and the feelings of the people as to the
permanence of the proposed government. The notice of the report of the
committee on ways and means, on page 24, and of the proviso, is entered,
to show that the amendments alluded to were made. We are of the opinion,
that had Mr. Le Breton lived to copy those minutes, he would have so
changed them. He says such amendment and proviso were adopted. To this
fact we have affirmed under oath as being a part of the provisional law
adopted at that meeting. This brings us to the first clause of the
organic law, as adopted by the people in mass convention.
The preamble and first article were adopted on motion of Joseph
McLaughlin, the second son of Dr. John McLaughlin, who took an active
part in favoring the organization, against the wishes and influence of
his family.
The second article was read, and, on motion of L. H. Judson, was
adopted.
The third, on motion of C. McRoy, and the fourth, on motion of Joseph
Holman, were also adopted.
On motion to adopt the fifth article, "on the executive power," it was
plain to be seen that the Rev. Mr. Hines was swelling and becoming
uneasy, in proportion as the Rev. Jason Lee appeared to be satisfied
with the proceedings. He hesitated to put the motion, called Robert
Moore, the chairman of the Legislative Committee, to the chair, and
commenced:--
"Mr. President, gentlemen, and fellow-citizens,--The Legislative
Committee which you appointed to prepare certain laws, and perform a
certain duty, have assumed to present for your approval something
they had no right, in all the instructions given them, to present.
They have commenced a course which, if not checked, will lead to the
worst possible form of despotism. Grant them the privilege which
they now ask, of imposing upon this settlement, upon you and me and
our families, this _hydra-headed monster_ in the shape of an
Executive Committee, and we have but the repetition of the Roman
Triumvirate--the Cæsars upon the throne. We may be told by them, in
excuse for the violation of plain and positive instructions, that
they found it difficult to proceed with the organizing of a
temporary government without an executive; and here they have
brought before you this _monstrosity_--this _black bear_--this
_hydra-headed monster_, in the shape of an Executive Committee; and
ask you to adopt it, as necessary to preserve your civil liberties
and rights.
"Gentlemen and fellow-citizens,--You have but to look to past
history, to warn you of the dangers of so palpable a violation of
instructions on the part of public servants. You instructed them to
do a certain work, to prepare certain laws. If they could not do as
instructed, let them resign and go home. So far as they performed
the duties assigned them, we can approve of their acts; but when
they attempt to force upon us what we have not asked of them, but
said to them we do not want this monstrosity with three heads, yet
they persist in saying we do; and have gone on and made their laws
to correspond with this absurd and outrageous thing they call
_Executive Committee_. Is it wise, is it reasonable, that we should
submit to it? What assurance have we that the next Legislative
Committee, or body we may appoint, following the example set by
this one, will not give us a king or emperor, and tell us it is
necessary to complete our organization?"
Many of the persons present at Champoeg on the 5th of July, 1843, will
recollect this speech, and the strong and emphatic manner in which it
was delivered. Why Mr. Hines did not move to strike out the executive
clause has always been a mystery to us. When he had resumed his seat as
president of the convention, Mr. O'Neil made a few remarks, explaining
the position of the committee. Mr. Shortess followed, denying the
assumption of power attributed to the committee, or a disposition to go
beyond their instructions, and urged the necessity of a head or some
controlling influence somewhere. Could we rely upon Captains McCarty, or
McKay, or Smith to call out their companies; or Major Howard? Should the
military control the civil power? "The thing is absurd," said Shortess.
Rev. Jason Lee could not see the proposed executive head of the proposed
provisional government in the light Mr. Hines did. If it was thought
necessary to have a government at all, it was necessary to have a head,
and an executive, or the laws were of no effect.
It was arranged with the Legislative Committee, that Gray should meet
Hines on this question, and make the last speech in favor of the
executive department. Hence O'Neil and Shortess both spoke in favor of
it. Dr. Babcock was opposed, on account of its going beyond present
necessities, and looking too much like a permanent and independent
government; whereas we only wished to form a temporary one. He thought
with Mr. Hines, that the committee had gone beyond their instructions in
providing for this executive power, still he was willing to abide the
decision of the people. There was a little uncertainty us to Mr. Lee's
final vote. Dr. Babcock was clearly against us. Mr. Hines made but the
one speech. From the course the debate had taken, Gray had no fears as
to the final result, and waited until it was evident that no more
opposing speeches would be made when he commenced:--
"Mr. President and fellow-citizens,--The speech which we have just
listened to, from our presiding officer, is in the main correct. It
is true that the Legislative Committee were not instructed to bring
before you an executive department in the laws and government you
proposed to form, when you appointed your committee to prepare those
laws. It is also true, that when that committee met, they found that
they could not advance one step in accomplishing the work you
instructed them to perform, without some supervising influence, or
power, somewhere; in short, without a head. Their instructions were
against a governor. They have provided an Executive Committee, in
place of a single man for governor. This executive head is to act
in the place of senate, council, and governor. This provision is
before you for your approval or rejection. With this Executive
Committee our organization is complete; without it we have no head;
no one to see that our laws are executed, and no one to grant a
reprieve or pardon in case a law should be enforced against the life
or property of any one, for the violation of any law, no matter what
the circumstances connected with that real or supposed violation
might be. The pardon and mercy part of our law is in that '_horrible
hydra-headed monster_' that the gentleman spoke about, and warned us
against; and instead of its being as black as his '_bear_,' it
becomes light and mercy to the erring and the ignorant. As to the
example set by your committee for future despots to rob us of our
liberty, and place over us a king or an emperor, you and I have no
fears so long as we elect our own legislative bodies.
"Now, fellow-citizens, let us look calmly at our true situation. We
are two thousand five hundred miles from any point from which we can
receive the least assistance by land; and seventeen thousand miles
by water. A portion of our community are organized and ready to
protect themselves, and to defend all their rights and interests.
Another organization of a religious character is in our midst,--I
should say, two. They each have a head--an executive. How is it with
us? Who is our head in all that pertains to our civil liberty,
rights, and property? It is possible the gentleman may wish us to
remain as unprotected, as helpless and exposed to all the dangers
that surround us on every hand, as we have heretofore been. If he
does, you, fellow-citizens, I am sure, do not wish to add to his
feebleness by destroying the organization you have commenced,
because he is afraid of what some Cæsar did in Rome some centuries
past. We are acting for ourselves and those immediately dependent
upon us for protection. In union there is strength. I believe you
are fully satisfied that your committee have acted honestly, and, as
they thought, for the good of all they represented. If such is the
case, you will approve of their acts, and our organization will be
complete as they have prepared it for this meeting."
On the question being taken, there were but two or three votes against
the executive, or fifth section. Mr. Lee informed the writer that he saw
plainly enough that the meeting was determined to have a government of
some kind, and that probably the Executive Committee was the best at
first. This point gained, the remainder was soon disposed of.
The marriage fee was changed, in the seventeenth article, from three
dollars to one dollar.
The resolution referred to as the nineteenth was: "_Resolved_, That a
committee of three be appointed to draw up a digest of all the laws and
proceedings of the people of this Territory, in relation to the present
provisional government, and the reasons for forming the same; and
forward said digest and report to the Congress of the United States for
their information." Rev. Jason Lee, Rev. Gustavus Hines, and Mr. C. M.
Walker were chosen that committee, and instructed to have access to all
public documents, and to call upon any individual for any information
they might deem necessary in carrying out their instructions.
That committee, so far as performing their duty and carrying out the
wishes of the people were concerned, did the same as the reverend
Legislative Committee did in 1841; they neglected the thing altogether,
and paid no attention to the object of the resolution. Still, at the
present day, when the same reverend gentlemen are charged with having
done all they could against the early settlers' government, they attempt
to repel the charge, and take great credit to themselves for the
perseverance of others in securing permanent laws and protection for
themselves and the settlements.
Messrs. Beers, Hill, and Gale, were chosen by ballot as the first
Executive Committee.
Hugh Burns, who had been chosen at the May meeting as justice of the
peace, had resigned, and Robert Moore was chosen to fill his place.
The committee had prepared a full list of the laws of Iowa, to recommend
for the adoption of the people, which was presented and read, some
slight amendments made, and the list adopted.
The report of the Legislative Committee was adopted as a whole; and on
motion it was "_Resolved_, That the president of the convention assisted
by the Rev. Messrs. Lee, Clark, and Leslie, be a committee to draft and
administer an oath of office to the civil officers elected on the 2d of
May, 1843, and that said officers be required to subscribe to the same;
and administer the oath to the supreme judge, who shall hereafter
qualify all civil and military officers to be elected by the people." At
this point, a question arose in the mind of the last-named committee,
whether they would proceed that night to administer the proposed oath,
or defer it till some other time. There were some earnest and determined
men in that convention, who were not to be defeated at the last moment
by the disposition of these reverend gentlemen to delay the concluding
ceremony of drafting and administering the oath of office to the persons
the people had chosen. To relieve them of all doubt as to the wish of
the convention (although it was then nearly dark), it was moved and
carried, "that the committee to qualify officers proceed to the
performance of their duty, as far as practicable, this evening." Judge
Wilson was not present.
Rev. Jason Lee noticed that Mr. Beers received the smallest number of
votes given for any member of the Executive Committee. This to him, and
probably to Messrs. Leslie and Hines, was unaccountable; but not so to
us, who understood the general feeling of opposition against the rule of
the missionaries and their large claims to land; as also the secret
prejudices excited against them by the Hudson's Bay Company and the
Jesuits, who attributed the entire government movement to them, while
the organization was that of the settlers unaided by any mission, except
individual members of the Protestant missions. This was probably the
reason for the proposition to delay qualifying the officers elected, and
carrying out the decided wish of the convention. This fact simply shows
a reluctant assent to the organization by the principal members of the
missions. The French address showed the feelings of the French and
Catholics, while the Hudson's Bay Company stood entirely aloof from it,
and expected to defeat the whole movement by the influence of such men
as the Rev. G. Hines, Dr. White, Robert Newell, and the Indians.
We have two copies of the organic laws adopted by the people at
Champoeg; one published by Charles Saxton in 1846, and the other by the
compiler of the Oregon archives in 1853. That published by Mr. Saxton
corresponds nearer with our own recollections of the facts of the case;
hence we will copy them as given by him.
CHAPTER XLV.
Organic laws.--Resolutions.--Districts.--Militia law.--Land
claims.--Certificate.
The Legislative Committee recommend that the following _organic laws_ be
adopted:--
WE, the people of Oregon Territory, for purposes of mutual
protection, and to secure peace and prosperity among ourselves,
agree to adopt the following laws and regulations, until such time
as the United States of America extend their jurisdiction over us:--
SECTION I.
_Be it enacted by the free citizens of Oregon Territory_, That the said
Territory, for the purposes of temporary government, be divided into not
less than three, nor more than five, districts; subject to be extended
to a greater number when an increase of population shall require.
For the purpose of fixing the principles of civil and religious liberty
as the basis of all laws and constitutions of government that may
hereafter be adopted, _Be it enacted_, That the following articles be
considered articles of compact among the free citizens of this
Territory.
ARTICLE 1. No person demeaning himself in a peaceable or orderly manner
shall ever be molested on account of his mode of worship or religious
sentiments.
ART. 2. The inhabitants of said Territory shall always be entitled to
the benefit of the writ of _habeas corpus_ and trial by jury, of a
proportionate representation in the Legislature, and of judicial
proceeding according to the course of common law. All persons shall be
bailable, unless for capital offenses, where the proof shall be evident,
or the presumption great. All fines shall be moderate, and no cruel or
unnatural punishments inflicted. No man shall be deprived of his liberty
but by the judgment of his peers, or the law of the land; and should the
public exigences make it necessary, for the common preservation, to take
any person's property, or to demand his particular services, full
compensation shall be made for the same. And in the just preservation of
rights and property, it is understood and declared that no law ought
ever to be made, or have force in said Territory, that shall in any
manner whatever interfere with, or affect, private contracts, or
engagements _bona fide_ made and without fraud previously formed.
ART. 3. Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good
government and the happiness of mankind, _schools_ and the means of
education _shall forever be encouraged_.
ART. 4. The utmost good faith shall always be observed toward the
Indians, their lands and property shall never be taken from them without
their consent, and in their property, rights, and liberty, they shall
never be invaded or disturbed, unless in just and lawful wars,
authorised by the representatives of the people. But laws, founded in
justice and humanity, shall, from time to time, be made, for preventing
injustice being done to them, and for preserving peace and friendship.
ART. 5. There shall be _neither slavery nor involuntary servitude_ in
said Territory, otherwise than for the punishment of crimes, whereof the
party shall have been duly convicted.
SECTION II.
ARTICLE 1. _Be it enacted_ by the authority aforesaid, That the officers
elected on the 2d of May instant shall continue in office until the
second Tuesday of May, 1844, and until others are elected and qualified.
ART. 2. An election for civil and military officers shall be held
annually upon the second Tuesday in May in the several districts, at
such places as shall be designated by law.
ART. 3. Each officer heretofore elected, or that shall hereafter be
elected, shall, before entering upon the duties of his office, take an
oath or affirmation to support the laws of the Territory, and faithfully
discharge the duties of his office.
ART. 4. _Every free male descendant of a white man_, inhabitant of this
Territory, of the age of twenty-one years and upward, who shall have
been an inhabitant of this Territory at the time of its organization,
shall be entitled to vote at the election of officers, civil and
military, _and be eligible to any office_ in the Territory; _Provided_,
That all persons of the description entitled to vote by the provision of
this section, who shall emigrate to this Territory after the
organization, shall be entitled to the rights of citizens after having
resided six months in the Territory.
ART. 5. The executive power shall be vested in a committee of three
persons, elected by the qualified voters at the annual election, who
shall have power to grant pardons and reprieves for offenses against the
laws of the Territory, to call out the military force of the Territory,
to repel invasions or suppress insurrections, to take care that the laws
are faithfully executed, and to recommend such laws as they may consider
necessary to the representatives of the people for their action. Two
members of the committee shall constitute a quorum for the transaction
of business.
ART. 6. The legislative power shall be vested in a committee of nine
persons, to be elected by the qualified electors at the annual election;
giving to each district a representation in the ratio of its population,
excluding Indians; and the said members shall reside in the district for
which they shall be chosen.
ART. 7. The judicial power shall be vested in a Supreme Court,
consisting of the supreme judge and two justices of the peace; a Probate
Court and Justice Court. The jurisdiction of the Supreme Court shall be
both appellate and original; that of the Probate Court and Justice Court
as limited by law; _Provided_, That individual justices of the peace
shall not have jurisdiction of any matter or controversy when the title
or boundaries of land may be in dispute, or when the sum claimed exceeds
fifty dollars.
ART. 8. There shall be a Recorder, elected by the qualified electors at
the annual election, who shall keep a faithful record of the proceedings
of the Legislative Committee, Supreme and Probate courts; also record
all boundaries of land presented for that purpose, and brands used for
marking live stock; procure and keep a record of the same; and also
record wills, deeds, and other instruments of writing required by law to
be recorded. The Recorder shall receive the following fees, viz.: For
recording wills, deeds, and other instruments of writing, twelve cents
for every hundred words; and for every weight or measure sealed,
twenty-five cents. For granting other official papers and the seal,
twenty-five cents; for services as clerk of the Legislature, the same
daily pay as members of the Legislature; and for all other services
required of him by this act, the same fees as allowed for similar
services by the laws of Iowa.
ART. 9. There shall be a Treasurer, elected by the qualified electors of
the Territory, who shall, before entering upon the duties of his office,
give bonds to the Executive Committee in the sum of fifteen hundred
dollars, with two or more sufficient sureties, to be approved by the
Executive Committee of the Territory, conditioned for the faithful
discharge of the duty of his office. The Treasurer shall receive all
moneys belonging to the Territory that may be raised by contribution, or
otherwise, and shall procure suitable books in which he shall enter an
account of his receipts and disbursements.
ART. 10. The Treasurer shall in no case pay money out of the Treasury
but according to law, and shall annually report to the Legislative
Committee a true account of his receipts and disbursements, with
necessary vouchers for the same, and shall deliver to his successor in
office all books, moneys, accounts, or other property belonging to the
Territory, as soon as his successor shall become qualified.
ART. 11. The Treasurer shall receive for his services the sum of five
per cent. upon all moneys received and paid out according to law, and
three per cent. upon all money in the Treasury when he goes out of
office, and two per cent. upon the disbursement of money in the Treasury
when he comes into office.
ART. 12. The laws of Iowa Territory shall be the laws of this Territory
in military and criminal cases, _where not otherwise provided for_; and
where no statute of Iowa Territory applies, the principle of common law
and equity shall govern.
ART. 13. The law of Iowa regulating weights and measures shall be the
law of this Territory; _Provided_, The Supreme Court shall perform the
duties required of the commissioners, and the recorder shall perform the
duties of the clerk of the county commissioners, as prescribed in said
laws of Iowa; and proved, that sixty pounds avoirdupois shall be the
standard weight of a bushel of wheat, whether the same be more or less
than two thousand one hundred and fifty and two-fifths cubic inches.
ART. 14. The laws of Iowa respecting wills and administrators shall be
the laws of this Territory in all cases not otherwise provided for.
ART. 15. The laws of Iowa respecting vagrants is hereby adopted as far
as adapted to the circumstances of the citizens of Oregon.
ART. 16. The Supreme Court shall hold two sessions annually, upon the
third Tuesdays of April and September, the first session to be held at
Champoeg upon the third Tuesday of September, 1843, and the second
session at Tualatin Plains, upon the third Tuesday of April, 1844. At
the sessions of the Supreme Court the judge shall preside, assisted by
two justices; _Provided_, That no justice of the peace shall assist in
trying any case that has been brought before the court by appeal from
his judgment. The Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction in
cases of treason and felony, or breach of the peace, and in civil cases
where the sum claimed exceeds fifty dollars.
ART. 17. All male persons of the age of sixteen years and upward, and
all females of the age of fourteen years and upward, shall have the
right to marry. When either of the parties shall be under twenty-one
years of age, the consent of the parents, or guardians of such minors,
shall be necessary to the validity of such matrimonial engagement. Every
ordained minister of the gospel, of any religious denomination, the
supreme judge, and all justices of the peace, are hereby authorized to
solemnize marriage according to law, to have the same recorded, and pay
the recorder's fee. The legal fee for marriage shall be one dollar; and
for recording, fifty cents.
ART. 18. All offices subsequently made shall be filled by election and
ballot in the several districts upon the day appointed by law, and under
such regulations as the laws of Iowa provide.
* * * * *
1. _Resolved_, That a committee of three be appointed to draw up a
digest of the doings of this Territory with regard to an organization,
and transmit the same to the United States government for their
information.
2. _Resolved_, That the laws of Iowa--as laid down in the "Statute Laws
of the Territory of Iowa, enacted at the first session of the
Legislative Assembly of said Territory, held at Burlington, A.D.
1838-9, published by authority in Dubuque, Russell & Reeves, printers,
1839;" certified to be a "correct copy," by William B. Conway, secretary
of Iowa Territory--be adopted as the laws of this Territory.
* * * * *
The Legislative Committee recommend that the Territory be divided into
four districts, as follows:--
First District, to be called the _Tualatin District_, comprising all the
country south of the northern boundary line of the United States, west
of the Wallamet or Multnomah River, north of the Yamhill River, and east
of the Pacific Ocean.
Second District, to be called the _Yamhill District_, embracing all the
country west of the Wallamet or Multnomah River, and a supposed line
running north and south from said river, south of the Yamhill River, to
the parallel of forty-two degrees north latitude, or the boundary line
of the United States and California, and east of the Pacific Ocean.
Third District, to be called the _Clackamas District_, comprehending all
territory not included in the other three districts.
Fourth District, to be called the _Champoeg District_, and bounded on
the north by a supposed line drawn from the mouth of the Haunchauke
River, running due east to the Rocky Mountains, west by the Wallamet or
Multnomah River, and a supposed line running due south from said river
to the parallel of forty-two degrees north latitude, south by the
boundary line of the United States and California, and east by the
summit of the Rocky Mountains.
The Legislative Committee also recommend the above districts to be
designated by the name of "Oregon Territory."
The Legislative Committee recommend that a subscription paper be put in
circulation to collect funds for defraying the expenses of the
government, as follows: We, the subscribers, hereby pledge ourselves to
pay annually to the treasurer of Oregon Territory the sum affixed to our
respective names, for defraying the expenses of government; _Provided_,
That in all cases each individual subscriber may, at any time, withdraw
his name from said subscription upon paying up all arrearages, and
notifying the treasurer of the colony of such desire to withdraw.
_Militia Law._
ARTICLE 1. The militia of this Territory shall be arranged into one
battalion, consisting of three or more companies of mounted riflemen.
ART. 2. That in case of the vacancy of the office of major by death or
otherwise, it shall be the duty of the Executive Committee to appoint
another whose duty it shall be to serve in the place of such removed
officer, until the annual election.
ART. 3. That when a portion of country is so distant, or so situated,
that in the opinion of the Executive Committee it would be inconvenient
for persons residing therein to belong to an organized company, they
shall be organized as a separate company under the command of a captain
appointed by themselves, and give due notice to the major of the
battalion, and be subject to the same laws and regulations as the other
companies of the battalion.
ART. 4. That all companies shall meet once in each year for company
inspection upon the last Tuesday in September, well mounted, with a good
rifle, or musket, and accouterments for company inspection and military
exercise.
ART. 5. It shall be the duty of the major to notify each captain of a
company to notify each member of his company of the day and place of
each annual meeting of his battalion and company at least six days
previous to such time of meeting.
ART. 6. It shall be the duty of each and every male inhabitant, over the
age of sixteen years and under sixty, that wishes to be considered a
citizen, to cause himself to be enrolled, by giving his name to the
proper officers of the militia, and serve under the same, except such as
are hereafter excepted.
ART. 7. That fines shall be laid upon all who fail to adhere to the
commands of the Executive Committee, and the same shall be expended for
ammunition and arms, without delay, and persons appointed to take charge
of the magazine wherever the Executive Committee shall direct its
location.
ART. 8. It shall be the duty of the Executive Committee to appoint a
surgeon to the battalion, who shall serve in his profession when so
ordered by the Executive Committee.
ART. 9. It shall be lawful for any commissioned officer in case of
invasion, or insurrection, to order out the militia under his command,
provided he has sufficient reason for so doing, and give immediate
notice thereof to the Executive Committee.
ART. 10. The militia of this Territory shall, with the advice and
consent of the Executive Committee, be subject to the call of the
authorized agents of the United States government until she may send
troops to support the same.
_Land Claims._
ARTICLE 1. Any person now holding or hereafter wishing to establish a
claim to land in this Territory, shall designate the extent of his claim
by natural boundaries, or by marks at the corners and upon the lines of
said claim, recorded in the office of the Territorial recorder, in a
book to be kept by him for that purpose, within twenty days from the
time of making said claim; _Provided_, That those who shall be already
in possession of land shall be allowed one year from the passage of this
act, to file a description of their claims in the recorder's office.
ART. 2. All claimants shall, within six months from the time of
recording their claims, make permanent improvements upon the same, by
building or inclosing, and also become occupant upon said claims within
one year of the date of such record.
ART. 3. No individual shall be allowed to hold a claim of more than one
square mile, or 640 acres, in a square or oblong form, according to the
natural situation of the premises, nor shall any individual be able to
hold more than one claim at the same time. Any person complying with the
provisions of these ordinances shall be entitled to the same process
against trespass as in other cases provided by law.
ART. 4. No person shall be entitled to hold such a claim upon city or
town lots, extensive water privileges, or other situations necessary for
the transaction of mercantile or manufacturing operations; _Provided_,
That nothing in these laws shall be so construed as to affect any claim
of any mission of a religious character made prior to this time, of
extent not more than six miles square.
Approved by the people, as per minutes, Wallamet, July 5, 1843.
A true copy from original papers. Attest
GEORGE W. LE BRETON,
Recorder.
_Certificate._
This certifies that David Hill, Alanson Beers, and Joseph Gale were
chosen the Executive Committee of the Territory of Oregon, by the people
of said Territory, and have taken the oath for the faithful performance
of the duties of their office as required by law.
GEORGE W. LE BRETON,
Recorder.
WALLAMET, OREGON TERRITORY, July 5, 1843.
CHAPTER XLVI.
Description of the State House.--Conduct of the French
settlers.--Arrival of Dr. Whitman's party of
immigrants.--Prosperity of the settlers.--Change in the policy of
the Hudson's Bay Company.--Their exorbitant claims.
A primitive State House was built with posts set upright, one end in the
ground, grooved on two sides, and filled in with poles and split timber,
such as would be suitable for fence rails; with plates and poles across
the top. Rafters and horizontal poles held the cedar bark, which was
used instead of shingles for covering. It was twenty by forty feet. At
one end, some puncheons were put up for a platform for the president;
some poles and slabs were placed around for seats; three planks one foot
wide and about twelve feet long, placed upon a sort of stake platform
for a table, for the use of the Legislative Committee and the clerks.
Perfect order and decorum prevailed throughout the proceedings. The
bolder and more independent portion of the French settlers participated
in this convention, and expressed themselves pleased with the result.
They looked to this organization to relieve them from British tyranny;
while by far the greater number of them kept aloof and refused to have
any thing to do with, or to submit to, the organization.
This arose from the advice they had received from the company, and the
instructions of the priests who were among them, as in the case of Dr.
White's effort to get a few of them to go with him to the interior, on
the report of threatened Indian difficulties. The Hudson's Bay Company,
as indicated in a communication to the Executive Committee, felt
themselves abundantly able to defend themselves and their political
rights.
This year, through the influence and representations by letters,
reports, and the personal efforts of that devoted friend to Oregon, Dr.
Marcus Whitman, an immigration of eight hundred and seventy-five persons
arrived in the fall, notwithstanding that deceitful servant of the
Hudson's Bay Company, Grant, at Fort Hall, did all he could, under the
instructions of the company, to induce as many as possible to go to
California, by telling them all the frightful stories he and his men
could invent, of their danger, and the difficulties they must encounter
in getting through to the settlement on the Wallamet. This company
brought with them thirteen hundred head of cattle. The immigration of
1842 amounted to one hundred and thirty-seven men, women, and children,
a limited supply of cattle, and a number of wagons to Fort Hall, where
they were induced to abandon most of them, through the false statements
of the man in charge.
The immigration of 1843, under the guidance of Dr. Whitman, brought most
of their wagons, teams, and cattle through all safe. They opened the
road to the Columbia, and the trail through the Cascade Mountains, which
was only an obscure Indian trail quite difficult to pass in 1842, on
account of brush, logs, and fallen timber.
Our population, all told, now amounted to not far from twelve hundred.
Among the immigrants of 1842 and '43 there were many excellent families,
and intelligent, industrious, noble-hearted young men; with a full
proportion of miserable scoundrels. Most of the families soon found
locations, and having some little means, with the assistance they could
obtain from the Methodist Mission, and such as was brought by Captain
Couch in the brig _Maryland_, and the barks _Lausanne_ and _Toulon_, by
Captain Crosby, sent by Mr. Cushing of Newburyport, soon commenced
permanent improvements. The winter was mild and the larger portion of
them were prosperous and happy in their new homes.
The provisional government was formed and put in operation in July
previous to the arrival of the large immigration of 1843. Supplies of
flour, sugar, and tea had been sent from the settlement to meet such as
might be in want on their way into the Wallamet Valley.
From the time it was known that Dr. Whitman had safely arrived in
Washington, and the boundary line was not settled, the whole policy of
the Hudson's Bay Company changed. Advances of outfits were made to such
men as Hastings and his party, Burnett, and other prominent men.
Employment was given to a select few, and every encouragement and
inducement held out to assist as many as could be prevailed upon to go
to California; while those who contemplated making Oregon a permanent
home were denied supplies or employment, especially those who had asked
the protection of the American government. Those who proposed going to
California could readily get all the supplies they required of the
company by giving their notes payable in California.
It was well understood by most of them when they gave their notes that
they never expected to pay them. Two of them informed us that they did
not intend to pay if they went out of the country, as they understood it
as equivalent to hiring, or giving them their outfit to induce them to
leave.
This last remark applies particularly to the immigration of 1842, and
the company that went to California with Mr. Hastings in the spring of
1843. This policy continued up to 1847-8, when the company found
themselves, as they supposed, through the influence of their Jesuit
missions and Indian allies, prepared to fully maintain their licensed
mercantile privileges, but found themselves confronted by an army of
five hundred brave and determined men, and an organization sufficiently
strong and united to compel them to again change their policy, though
not their secret hatred of what they termed American intrusion upon
their imaginary rights in the country. In the seventeenth page of their
memorial, they assert, "And they had therein and thereupon a right of
trade which was virtually exclusive.----And such right of trade, and the
control, possession, and use of said Territory, for the purposes
thereof, independent of their foreign commerce and the sale of timber,
exceeding in total value the sum of two hundred thousand pounds sterling
($973,333.33)." This statement is made in behalf of that company as
their profits in trade before and up to 1846, which, together with the
declaration of Dr. McLaughlin and Mr. Douglas, as found in chapter
fifty-four, addressed to our Executive Committee under date March 11 and
12, 1845, is sufficient to indicate the true policy of the company,
which will be more fully developed as we proceed.
CHAPTER XLVII.
Actions speak louder than words.--Efforts of the Hudson's Bay
Company to discourage immigration.--Account of the two Jesuits, F.
N. Blanchet and P. J. De Smet.--Protestant missionaries
discouraged.--Important position of the Rev. G. Hines.--Recall of
the Rev. Jason Lee.--Efforts of the Hudson's Bay Company to prevent
emigration to the Territory.--Statement of General Palmer.--Indian
combinations.--The Donner party.--Mr. McBean's character.--Extent
of Oregon at this time.
Reaching thoughts by actions. This the historian of the times has a
right to do; and by comparing the act and result, he can arrive with
almost mathematical certainty as to what the thought was that originated
the act, and produced the result. But we are not confined to this mode
of reasoning. We have their own, and the statements of those favorable
to them, to substantiate our conclusions.
1st. The inadvertent statement of F. Ermatinger, one of their chief
traders, in 1838, that in case the American government attempted to take
this country, the Hudson's Bay Company would arm their eight hundred
half-breeds, and with the aid of the Indians, drive back any force that
could be sent across the continent to take it. Their navy could defend
the coast. The Jesuits could influence the Indians.
2d. The arrangements made to bring to the country the Red River
immigrants in 1842.
3d. The stationing of a ship of war at Vancouver to protect the company.
4th. The building of bastions at Fort Vancouver, and strengthening that
post in 1845-6.
5th. The refusal of Mr. Douglas to furnish supplies to the provisional
troops, sent to punish the parties engaged in the Wailatpu massacre.
6th. The supplying of Indians, by Mr. Ogden, with a large amount of war
material, and his avowal not to have any thing to do with American
difficulties.
7th. The letters and correspondence of Sir James Douglas.
8th. The positive statements of William McBean.
9th. The statements of Vicar-General Brouillet.
10th. The correspondence and letters of Bishop Blanchet.
11th. The testimony they have produced in support of their claims.
12th. The designs of the British government as indicated by James Edward
Fitzgerald.
13th. The sending of American immigrants from Fort Hall and Oregon to
California.
14th. The attempt to supply the Indians in the interior, by the aid of
Romish priests, with a large amount of ammunition.
15th. The implacable hatred implanted in the mind of the Indian against
Americans, through the influence of the Hudson's Bay Company and the
Jesuit missionaries brought to the country for that purpose.
16th. The strict rules of the company, and the continued effort to
enforce those rules to the destruction of life and property.
We now come to the thoughts which originated and caused the foregoing
acts.
_These American missionaries have done more to defeat us, to settle the
country, and defer the establishment of the boundary line, than all
other efforts and causes combined._ We must make another effort to
destroy their influence, and drive them and their settlements from the
country; and thus secure it to the British crown, for the use of the
company, at the risk of a war between the two countries.
It will be remembered that Messrs. Lee, Parker, Whitman, Spalding, Gray,
and other missionaries, had their passports from the Secretary of War of
the United States, giving them permission to travel through, and settle
as teachers in, the Indian country; and that all military officers and
agents of the government were instructed to facilitate their efforts,
and, if at any time it was necessary, afford them protection. These
passports had been duly presented to the Hudson's Bay Company at
Vancouver, and had the effect to prevent a direct effort to destroy or
drive them from the country, as they had done to all who preceded them.
Hence, an extra effort must be made to get rid of this American
missionary influence, and the settlements they were gathering around
them.
We will now proceed to give historical facts as connected with results.
Two intelligent, jovial, yet bigoted priests had been brought to the
country by the company. They had traveled all through it, and had
actually discovered the pure silver and golden ores of the Rocky
Mountains, and carried specimens to St. Louis and to Europe. These
priests fully understood the licensed rights of the Hudson's Bay
Company, and the efforts they were making to secure it to the British
crown. They were also assured that, in case the American Protestant
influence could be driven from it, the Papal would become the prevailing
religion, as in California and Mexico. They knew that the English
Episcopal effort was an early and utter failure, and that no renewed
effort would be made in their behalf by the company, and that they were
then using their influence to drive the Wesleyan missionaries from Moose
Factory. Hence, they and their associates entered upon their work with a
zeal and energy only equaled by him who was their first victim.
F. N. Blanchet visited Canada, New York, and Rome, and was made Bishop
of Oregon. His associate, P. J. De Smet, gathered his priests and nuns,
returned to the country, and entered vigorously upon their missionary
work, having the substantial aid of the Hudson's Bay Company, and the
personal assistance of its members. Their churches, nunneries, and
schools sprung up as if by magic in French Prairie, Oregon City,
Vancouver, the Dalles, Umatilla, Pen d'Oreille, Colville, and St. Marie.
The Protestant missions in the country were greatly annoyed by the
unreasonable and threatening conduct of the Indians about their
stations. They were demanding unreasonable pay for the lands upon which
the stations were located, and paying but little or no attention to
their American teachers. The American missionaries were becoming
disheartened and discouraged, and were beginning to abandon their
stations. Rev. A. B. Smith, of the Nez Percé mission, Dr. Richmond, from
Nasqualla, Rev. Messrs. Kone and Frost, from Clatsop, and Mr. Edwards
had left the country. Rev. Daniel Lee, Rev. H. K. W. Perkins, Mr.
Brewer, and Dr. Babcock, had all become dissatisfied, and thought they
had found a plausible excuse for leaving. A simple statement of a man in
the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company had more influence with them than
their missionary vows and obligations to the churches that sent them
out.
They were not satisfied with leaving themselves, but made charges
against the purest and best man of their number, simply because that,
while he was absent from Oregon in 1838-9, influences were brought into
the country by the company, with the intent to defeat them, and destroy
all Protestant missions,--applying the same policy to destroy the
harmony and usefulness of the American missions, that they had used to
destroy the power and influence of the Indian tribes; which was to
divide them up into factions, and get them to quarreling among
themselves, as in the case of Rev. J. S. Griffin and party. This would
destroy their influence, and help to break up their settlements.
The Rev. Mr. Hines, with all his wisdom, sound judgment, and experience,
became, unwittingly, an important instrument and apologist in this
deep-laid scheme to rid the country of Protestant missionaries and
American settlements. He was led to join his influence against his
truest and best friend, who is called home and superseded, and the
mission stations abandoned and broken up.
Mr. Hines, on pages 236-7 of his book, says: "With regard to the
objections against Mr. Lee, arising from his not furnishing the Board
with the desirable report concerning the disbursement of the _large
appropriations_, it should be observed that no such charge of
delinquency appears against him, up to the time of the appointment of
the great re-enforcement." Dr. White was known to be a bitter enemy of
Rev. Jason Lee, and a willing tool of the Hudson's Bay Company. Mr.
Hines, as his book, and the letters he wrote to Dr. White and the Indian
Department at Washington, show, was favorable to the proceedings and
policy of Dr. White and the Hudson's Bay Company.
We understand, through Rev. Mr. Geary, that Mr. Hines attributed to Mr.
Lee's advice expenditures for buildings that were the pet objects of Mr.
Hines himself; and thus Rev. J. Lee, to gratify the wish of others,
yielded his own convictions of right, and in this way became an object
of censure, which was the cause of his removal. The "changes
inconceivably great with respect to the Indians of Oregon," which, Rev.
Mr. Hines says "took place betwixt the time the great re-enforcement was
called for, and the time of their arrival in the Columbia River," were
brought to bear, and had their influence and effect, upon _him_, in his
Umpqua missionary trip, in his trip to the interior, in his
representations to his Missionary Board, in his opposition to the
provisional government, and had their influence upon his missionary
brethren. These men, Mr. Hines included, instead of studying the true
interests of the country,--their obvious duty to the churches that sent
them out, and the cause they represented,--were flattered and cajoled by
the artful members of a foreign monopoly, and made to believe they had
talents superior to the field in which they were placed by the influence
and advice of the superintendent, Mr. Lee, forgetting the changes above
intimated, and having no suspicions that a secret foreign influence was
working to bring about the utter failure of their Indian missions; nor
supposing that the brightest and best talents would secure the most
attention, and the surest effort to render them dissatisfied.
The whole statement about Mr. Lee's recall, and the reasons assigned,
appear to us to be unjust (though, perhaps, not intended) to the
character of Mr. Lee. It was after the great re-enforcement spoken of,
that the large expenditures referred to were made; hence, Mr. Hines'
excuse confirms the charge, and he only attempts to change the
responsibility to another; while Mr. Lee, like Dr. McLaughlin, is
suffered to fall by the influence of his professed friends.
The Jesuit priests, co-laborers with the Hudson's Bay Company, did not
hesitate to poison the minds of all who would listen to them against the
Protestant missionaries and all their efforts; neither did they hesitate
as to the means, so long as a certain object was to be accomplished. Le
Breton, Lee, and Whitman must fall by their influence. The character of
others must suffer by their malicious slanders and false statements. See
Brouillet, pages 20 and 21, in which he attempts to show that Dr.
Whitman and others were in the habit of poisoning melons to prevent the
Indians from stealing them, while the fact is, the Doctor encouraged the
Indians to come and get melons to eat freely, in order to induce them to
cultivate for themselves; and we are certain that no one at the station
at that time thought of putting poison into melons.
As we said, we are reading thoughts by words and acts, so as to arrive
at a correct conclusion as to the thought that caused the act.
The American missionaries and settlements must be driven from the
country. To do this, the Indians that have heretofore been kept at war
among themselves, must now be united. Some changes must be made; Grant,
of the Hudson's Bay Company, must occupy Fort Hall, and do all he can to
turn immigrants to California, and rob such as persist in coming to
Oregon.
General Palmer says in his journal, page 43: "While we remained at this
place (Fort Hall) _great efforts_ were made to induce the immigration to
pursue the route to California. The most extravagant tales were related
respecting the dangers awaiting a trip to Oregon, and the difficulties
and trials to be surmounted. The perils of the way were so magnified as
to make us suppose the journey to Oregon almost impossible. For
instance, the two crossings of Snake River, and the crossings of the
Columbia and other smaller streams, were represented as being attended
with great danger. Also, that no company heretofore attempting the
passage of these streams, succeeded but with the loss of men, from the
violence and rapidity of the currents, as also that they had never
succeeded in getting more than fifteen or twenty head of cattle into the
Wallamet Valley.
"In addition to the above, it was asserted that three or four tribes of
Indians in the middle regions _had combined for the purpose of
preventing our passage through their country_. In case we escaped
destruction at the hands of the savages, that a more fearful
enemy--famine--would attend our march, as the distance was so great that
winter would overtake us before making the Cascade Mountains. On the
other hand, as an inducement to pursue the California route, we were
informed of the shortness of the route when compared with that to
Oregon, as also of the many other superior advantages it possessed."
It is not our intention to go into the history of California, but give
what strictly relates to Oregon and her people in those early times. In
the paragraph we have quoted from General Palmer's journal, the reader
will see a fiendish, a damning policy; and if our language has any
severer terms to express evil motives and intentions, let him use them,
as belonging to the course pursued by that organization yclept Honorable
Hudson's Bay Company, in attempting to prevent the settlement of Oregon,
and sending whole families to starve and perish, and become cannibals in
the mountains of California, rather than tell the truth, and aid them in
getting to Oregon; as will be seen by the following extract from the
_Gold Hill_ (Nevada) _News_, concerning the horrible sufferings of "The
Donner Party:"--
"The world perhaps never produced a sadder and a truer story, nor
one which will be so long remembered by many whose fortunes were
cast on the Pacific slope in the early days of its settlement by the
Americans. We personally knew one of the families that perished
among the Donner party, and on reading the interesting letter in the
_Union_ it awakened in our memory a little incident in connection
with this sad calamity, which happened in the State of Illinois
twenty years ago last April. At that time we were publisher of a
newspaper in Putnam County, Illinois. Oregon and California were
beginning to attract the attention of the Western people; and in the
spring of 1846 a party of about fifty persons, farmers with their
families, and young men, was made up in that county destined for
Oregon. When the day of departure arrived, the whole party assembled
in a village called Magnolia to agree upon camp regulations,
appointment of officers, etc. As a journalist, we attended that
meeting and published a full account of its proceedings. Among the
party was 'Uncle Billy Graves' and his family, consisting of father,
mother, two daughters, and a son, the ages of the children ranging
from fifteen to twenty years. Uncle Billy Graves was a well-to-do
farmer, with every thing comfortable about him; and, having already
reached the age of threescore, it was a matter of surprise to many
that he should sell his farm and start off to make a new home in
such a far-off and wild country as Oregon then was. But the country
in Illinois was getting too thickly settled for the old man, and he
longed for the wild adventures of the far west. He pleaded and
persuaded us to go with him, and to bring our office along, as
Oregon would some day be a great country, and we would have the
credit of having been the first to publish a newspaper in it. But
circumstances over which we had no control prevented us, although
we certainly had the will and the wish just as Uncle Billy Graves
advised. We remained in Illinois, and the Graves family joined with
the overland party for Oregon. Letters written by the party during
the summer were published in our paper. The last one written by any
of the Graves family was dated at Fort Laramie, and this was the
last heard of the old farmer. He joined the Donner party, which
separated from the emigration to Oregon at Fort Hall, near the
headwaters of the Columbia, and wending his way westward toward
California, before its gold-fields were known in the world, he
perished in the mountains, and his good old wife perished with him.
The son and daughters of the Graves family were among the persons
who were rescued by the relief party of sailors and others who were
sent out by the benevolent Americans at Sutter's Fort and San
Francisco. A long letter written by one of the Graves girls was
published in our paper in the year 1847, and which contained a full
and sad account of the awful sufferings of the party. We shall never
forget the manuscript of the letter. It was blotted all over with
the tears which the poor girl shed while describing the sufferings
of her famishing parents, their death, and the flesh of their dead
bodies furnishing food for their starving children! Horrible!
horrible! Let the bleached bones and skulls of the Donner party be
gathered together and decently buried, for they once belonged to
good Christian people."
The Indians also have become deeply interested in their schemes to
prevent the settlement of the country.
We are told by Mr. Hines, on page 143, that they sent one of their
chiefs on snow-shoes, in the winter of 1842-3, to excite or induce the
Buffalo Indians to join them to cut off the immigrants that were
expected to come to the country with Dr. Whitman.
Mr. McKinley, a professedly warm friend of Dr. Whitman, was removed from
having charge of Fort Nez Percés, and William McBean, who (Mr. Roberts,
an old clerk of the Hudson's Bay Company, says) "is one of the d----dest
scoundrels that ever lived," put in his place.
The reader will not forget that we are speaking of events and movements
in a country where an Indian in a canoe or on horseback or snow-shoes
was our swiftest messenger, and that its boundaries included what is now
the State of Oregon, the Territories of Washington, Idaho, and Montana,
besides Vancouver Island and British Columbia.
The Hudson's Bay Company was a powerful and unscrupulous monopoly, and
the only representative of a vast empire on this western part of our
continent. To possess the whole, or a valuable part of it, was an object
worth using the influence they had spent years of labor and thousands
(not millions, as they claim) of dollars to secure.
The time has now arrived when all is at stake. _The American missionary
societies have accomplished what American commerce and fur traders have
failed to do._ The trouble is now between a "_squawtocracy of British
skin traders_" and Italian and Belgian Jesuits on one side, and American
missionaries and settlements on the other. The traders and Jesuits have
nearly overcome the American missionary influence. The settlements are
organized. The old policy to get rid of all opposition fur traders,
destroy Indian influence, and break up missions, must be tried, to
prevent and destroy the settlements.
The thoughts expressed in this chapter have carried us in advance of the
date of culminating events; hence, we must return, in order that we may
bring them in the order of their occurrence.
CHAPTER XLVIII.
1844.--The settlements alarmed.--Indian attack.--Death of G. W. Le
Breton.--Meeting at Mr. La Chapelle's.--Volunteer company
formed.--The _Modeste_ in the Columbia River.--The Legislative
Assembly.--Names of the members.--Peter H. Burnett.--Mr. David
Hill.--Oregon social standard.--M. M. McCarver.--"Old Brass
Gun."--A. L. Lovejoy.--Daniel Waldo.--Thomas B. Keizer.--Black
act.--Prohibitory liquor law.
1844.--March 9th of this year found our settlements alive and in great
alarm. The Indians in the vicinity of Oregon City had made an attack
upon the town on the 4th instant, and three white men had been wounded
and one Indian killed. G. W. Le Breton was wounded while attempting to
take the Indian that commenced the attack, by a ball entering and
breaking his arm, from the effect of which he died some twelve days
after, and was buried at Vancouver, where he had been taken for surgical
treatment. The other two received slight flesh wounds, although one
proved fatal--probably made by a poisoned arrow. The Indians commenced
the fight in open day, and continued it till their leader was taken by
Le Breton, after his arm was broken.
The Indian was placed under guard, and, on attempting to make his
escape, was killed. Those who were with him, and took part in the fight,
fled into the thick wood back of the town, and escaped.
This account, which we have received from other sources, will be seen to
differ slightly from the one already given by Dr. White in his letter to
the Secretary of War.
A proclamation was issued by the Executive Committee, calling for an
organization of the military forces in the settlement. It appears, from
the record of those times, that but one company was organized in
Champoeg District. The proceedings of that meeting, as noted by the
writer, and signed by the secretary, gives the fullest account we have,
and properly belongs to the history of the times. The attempt to destroy
the people and town at Wallamet Falls was made on the 4th of March; the
news was conveyed to the old mission and Salem on the 5th; notices were
immediately sent to the American population to meet on the 9th, with
arms, to organize for defensive or offensive measures. In the mean time,
each individual and family took such precautionary measures as were
thought advisable, keeping guard over their separate and individual
possessions. Most of the French or Hudson's Bay Company's servants
showed no alarm on the occasion, and very few of them turned out, or
paid any attention to the military call, though the meeting was at the
house of a Frenchman.
The citizens of Champoeg having met on March 9, at the house of Mr. La
Chapelle, in accordance with the proclamation issued, the meeting was
called to order by one of the Executive Committee, and the proclamation
read.
Upon the suggestion of the executive, W. H. Wilson was chosen chairman
of this meeting, and T. D. Keizer, secretary.
The object of the meeting was briefly explained by one of the Executive
Committee, Hon. A. Beers, and the chairman. Information was called for
concerning the depredations committed at Wallamet Falls on the 4th
instant.
Mr. Beers presented an official letter from Hon. D. Hill, one of the
Executive Committee, which was read. Statements were made by Mr.
Garrison respecting accounts received from other sources, and a letter
was presented by the United States sub-Indian agent, from A. L. Lovejoy,
Esq., respecting the affair of the 4th, which was read.
Statements were made by Hon. A. Beers concerning the steps they had
taken, and the orders they had issued.
On motion, the United States sub-Indian agent was requested to give his
views and advice on the subject. He accordingly related his proceeding
in reference to the matter; said he was unprepared to give advice, or
suggest what was best to be done in the present case. He was fully aware
of the defenseless state of the colony and the dangers to which it was
exposed. He knew the character of the Indian that was killed to be of
the vilest kind, and that he had threatened and attempted the lives of
citizens before. The agent said he had made an unsuccessful attempt to
take him, and have him punished by the Cayuses, to avoid the danger that
might result from the whites punishing him themselves. This renegade had
attempted to induce the Indians at the falls to burn the town; and,
failing in this object, he returned across the river. The citizens
attempted peaceably to take him, but in the affray three whites were
wounded, and one Indian killed. The agent thought a more efficient
organization of the Territory necessary.
Some remarks were made by W. H. Gray, and a resolution offered as
follows:--
_Resolved_, That in view of the facts presented, we deem it expedient to
organize a volunteer company of mounted riflemen, to co-operate with
other companies, to bring to justice all the Indians engaged in the
affair of the 4th of March, and to protect our lives and property
against any attempt at future depredations.
Carried unanimously. Whereupon W. H. Gray presented some articles of
compact as the basis of an organization of a volunteer company, which,
on motion, and with warm expressions of approbation from the United
States sub-Indian agent, were adopted, and immediately subscribed to by
nineteen volunteers.
The articles of compact allowed the company to elect a captain,
lieutenant, and ensign, as soon as twelve men should be enlisted, so the
company proceeded, by nomination, to elect their officers, to wit: For
captain, T. D. Keizer; first lieutenant, J. L. Morrison; for ensign, Mr.
Cason. The captain gave notice to the company of his acceptance of the
appointment, requesting them to meet at the Oregon Institute, armed and
equipped, on the 11th inst., for company drill.
On motion, the following resolution was adopted, viz.:--
_Resolved_, That this meeting recommend to our fellow-citizens of this
Territory, to organize volunteer companies in their respective districts
forthwith; and to rendezvous at the Oregon Institute, on Saturday, the
23d instant, at 12 M.
Moved, that the proceedings of this meeting be signed by the chairman
and secretary, and as much of them as is deemed proper be transmitted to
other districts. Carried.
On motion, adjourned.
W. H. WILSON, Chairman.
T. D. KEIZER, Secretary.
It will be seen by Dr. White's statement, that the Indian killed was a
renegade from the Cayuse or upper country Indians. He was doing all he
could to excite the Indians and get them to join in a general
combination to destroy the American settlements in the Wallamet Valley.
Dr. White, as he stated to the meeting, had now reached the utmost limit
of his authority and influence. He knew not what to do. He was too big a
coward to propose any bold measure, and too mean to be trusted by the
settlers; hence, if the reader will carefully study the proceedings of
this meeting, he will find a firm and steady influence, on the part of
the settlers, leading on through all the dangers and excitements of the
occasion. The proposed company was at once organized and elected its
officers. Gray accepted the office of first sergeant in the company,
which was soon filled up and drilled, and all were mounted on good
horses. This soon became known throughout the settlements, and had the
effect to frighten the Indians and keep them quiet, so that no further
disturbance was made in the settlements of the Wallamet. It also had the
effect to secure in the Columbia River the presence of the _Modeste_, a
war vessel of the English government, which became _absolutely
necessary_ (ironically speaking) to protect the property and interests
of the Hudson's Bay Company from the threatened depredations of the
Indians about their posts at Vancouver, as they were represented to be
becoming far more hostile than formerly. The company had found that,
since the Americans began to settle in the country, these Indians had
become more dangerous and hostile to them; and as their people were
scattered more extensively over the Indian country, it was absolutely
necessary to have their principal depot more strongly fortified and
protected, not against Indians, for they, by the course already pursued
by that company, were fast melting away. Their country had been "hunted
up" and made destitute of fur-producing animals by the advanced prices
they had given in 1838-40, and now starvation was their only portion,
unless the American settlers would share with them what they produced
from the soil. This Indian difficulty was only an attempt to bring on an
Indian war in the Wallamet to see how strong the settlements were, what
means of protection they possessed, and what their offensive measures
were likely to be.
This opened the eyes of Sir James Douglas to the natural weakness of
Fort Vancouver. The _Modeste_ was ordered to the river, and other
preparations were made to defend that establishment from an attack of
the American settlers. They found from the results of what occurred on
the 4th of March, that there _was a real substantial power in the
country_, and an influence of combination that they did not dream of;
hence they found themselves, with all their Indian combinations, the
weaker power.
We will now leave the Honorable Hudson's Bay Company under the
protection of the guns of her Majesty's ship _Modeste_, the fort being
repaired, bastions built, and all other protective and defensive
measures completed, while we look after the election and proceedings of
the Legislative Assembly of 1844.
The members elected from Tualatin District (since divided into
Washington, Multnomah, Columbia, Clatsop, and Tilamook counties) were
Peter H. Burnett, David Hill, M. M. McCarver, and Mr. Gilmore.
Clackamas District, including all of Washington Territory, Idaho,
Montana, and half of the eastern part of the State of Oregon, was
represented by A. L. Lovejoy. Champoeg District, including Marion, Linn,
Baker, Douglas, and Jackson counties, was represented by Daniel Waldo,
from Missouri, Thomas D. Keizer, from Arkansas, and Robert Newell, from
the Rocky Mountains.
Peter H. Burnett was a lawyer from Missouri, who came to Oregon to seek
his fortune, as well as a religion that would pay the best, and give
him the most influence; which in the Legislative Committee was
sufficient to induce that body to pay no attention to any organic law or
principle laid down for the government of the settlements. In fact, he
asserted that there were no constitutional provisions laid down or
adopted by the people in general convention at Champoeg the year
previous. Mr. Burnett was unquestionably the most intelligent lawyer
then in the country. He was a very ambitious man--smooth, deceitful, and
insinuating in his manners.
On motion of Mr. Lovejoy (another lawyer), the several members were
excused from producing their credentials, and on motion of the same
gentleman, the house proceeded to elect a Speaker. M. M. McCarver was
duly elected.
The journal of the proceedings of this Legislative Committee shows that
no regard was paid to any previous laws, or constitutional provisions.
David Hill, of Tualatin District, was from Ohio. He was a tall, slim
man, of sallow complexion, black hair, with strong prejudices, having no
regard for religion or morality. He left an interesting wife and family
in Ohio, and passed himself off in Oregon for a widower or bachelor. He
was favorable to all applications for divorces, and married a second
wife, as near as we could learn, before he obtained a divorce (if he
ever did) from his first wife. He early took an active part in the
provisional government, and was a decided opponent of the Hudson's Bay
Company, as also of all missionary efforts in the country. This rendered
him popular among the settlers, and secured his election as a
representative for that district for several years, although his
education was quite limited. As a citizen he was generally respected.
Though intimately acquainted with two of his sons, we could never learn
that he was any thing but kind and affectionate as a husband and father.
The fact of his leaving a wife and young family in Ohio, coming to
Oregon, and remaining for years without making any provision for them,
is evidence of guilt in some one. The friends of his wife and family
spoke of them as being highly esteemed by all who knew them. But it is
of his public acts, as connected with the history of Oregon, that we
wish particularly to speak.
The social standard adopted by the people of Oregon was peculiarly
adapted to favor men of Mr. Hill's morality, and aid them in rising from
the effect of any former misconduct they may have been guilty of in any
other country. This standard was, to receive as fellow-citizens all who
came among us; to ignore their former actions, and give them a chance to
start anew, and make a name and character in the country.
There must be something noble and generous in a people occupying a new
and wild country, as Oregon was in those days, that would lead them to
adopt a standard for common action and citizenship, so peculiarly
republican and in accordance with the most liberal and enlightened
Christianity. To this spirit of toleration and benevolence must be
attributed, under an all-wise Providence, the complete success and
stability of the first civil government formed on this coast. Hence, as
we have before said, we shall deal with men, morals, and politics as
they belonged to Oregon at the time of which we are writing.
M. M. McCarver, from having acted as commissary in the Black Hawk war,
in Iowa, was called General. This title secured to him considerable
influence, and many favors from the Hudson's Bay Company. General
McCarver was a man of common education, making large pretension to
political knowledge, without much judgment or understanding of political
economy. He was an intolerable debater, and acquired, among the lobby
members of the Legislature, the name of "_Old Brass Gun_." In his
political course, he strove hard for popularity, and attempted to secure
places of honor for personal promotion. He was what would be considered
a _Simon Pure_ pro-slavery Democrat. Like the silly moth in the fable,
he fluttered around the shadow of Dr. White, the sub-Indian agent, and
assisted him in insulting the Legislative Committee of 1845, and
attempted to get his name before the Congress of the United States as an
important and influential man, which was divulged and defeated by
another member of the same committee, though in a cowardly and
dishonorable manner. We are not aware that General McCarver ever
originated any important measure, or performed any extensive or
important service in the country. His political schemes were generally
so supremely selfish that they died still-born.
Mr. Gilmore, from the same district, was a substantial farmer. He
neither said or did much, and but little is known of him.
A. Lawrence Lovejoy, formerly from Massachusetts, was a man of medium
size, light complexion, light hair, rather impetuous and dogmatical in
his conversation. He crossed the mountains with the immigration of 1842
to Dr. Whitman's station; from that place he attempted to return to the
United States with Dr. Whitman. As near as we can learn, he became
utterly exhausted by the time they reached Bent's Fort on the Arkansas
River, and was left there by the Doctor. In the summer of 1843 he
returned to Oregon and pursued his profession of law. In Oregon he has
always acted with the radical Democratic party, rather doubtfully on the
pro-slavery platform. He was the first regular nominee for governor of
Oregon. George Abernethy, the secular agent of the Methodist Mission,
was run as an independent candidate, and, with the assistance of Peter
H. Burnett, Mr. Russell, and his friends, who bolted the general
convention, was elected governor, though at the time he was on a visit
to the Sandwich Islands. A large number of political friends still
adhered to Mr. Lovejoy, and made a second attempt to elect him governor.
Mr. Abernethy was again the opposing candidate. It appeared in the
canvass of that year, that the Hudson's Bay Company generally voted for
Mr. Lovejoy; but the personal kindness of Mr. Abernethy to a priest
traveling up the Wallamet, induced him to tell his people to vote for
Mr. Abernethy, and by this vote he was elected, although a fair majority
of the votes of the American settlers was given for Mr. Lovejoy. Mr.
Lovejoy, like many of us, leaves but little usefulness or philanthropy
to record, that his talents and position should have led him to aspire
to. As a citizen and neighbor, he is kind and obliging, as a lawyer not
above mediocrity, and it is generally understood that he makes no
pretensions to religion.
Daniel Waldo, formerly of Missouri, was a plain, substantial farmer, and
the first man who ventured to experiment upon the hills, or upland
portions of Oregon. He had owned extensive tracts of land on the banks
of the Missouri, a large portion of which had been washed away by the
floods, which cause continual changes along the banks of that river. In
coming to Oregon, he had made up his mind to take the hills, if there
were any in the country. He did so, and has proved by his experiment the
value of a large portion of country that was before considered worthless
for cultivation. From the time Mr. Waldo arrived in the country he
became an enthusiastic admirer of Oregon. Soon after he had located in
the hills bearing his name, an old acquaintance of his, and also of his
brother in Missouri, came to Oregon on a visit, and was about to return
to the States. He paid Mr. Waldo a visit, and after chatting awhile and
looking over his farm, on which we could not see a single rail, except a
few he had in a corral, his friend (Colonel Gilpin) said to him: "What
shall I say for you, to your brother in Missouri?" "Tell him," said
Waldo, "that I would not give the bare idea of owning a section of land
in Oregon for all I own in Missouri [which was then two sections, 1,280
acres], and that I would not give a section of land here for the whole
State of Missouri." Such men gave a good report of Oregon, and it is to
such that the country is indebted for her stability and prosperity. Mr.
Waldo's experiment has shown the capacity of the country for settlement
to be more than double what it was previously considered, and while some
of those who laughed at him and called him an enthusiast here had their
farms, cattle, and houses swept away by floods, he has remained in the
hills uninjured and secure.
Thomas D. Keizer, from Arkansas. Of this man's early history we have
learned but little. It seems that, for some cause, he and his family
were compelled to leave the State. Their story is that a gang of
counterfeiters was exposed by them, and in consequence of their becoming
informers they were surrounded by a mob and compelled to leave. On first
arriving in the country they were not scrupulous as to the rights of
their neighbors, or those of the Oregon Institute, or mission claims.
They found themselves comfortably housed in the first buildings of the
Oregon Institute, and occupied them till it suited their pleasure to
leave, and to find other quarters upon land claimed by the mission. As
was to be expected, Mr. Keizer was inclined to do all he could to
curtail the mission and Institute claims, he being the gainer by
curtailing the claims of others. As a politician, he considered all
little dirty tricks and slanders against an opponent justifiable. In
religion he professed to be a Methodist.
Robert Newell has been previously described.
Such being the composition of the Legislative Committee of Oregon in
1844, it is not surprising that interests of classes and cliques should
find advocates, and that the absolute wants of the country should be
neglected. The whole time of the session seems to have been taken up in
the discussions of personal bills. The question of convention of the
people was before this session and was lost.
There was one inhuman act passed by this Legislative Committee, which
should stamp the names of its supporters with disgrace and infamy. We
find its inception recorded on the 25th of July, the sixth day of the
session.
On motion, the rules were suspended for the special purpose of allowing
Hon. P. H. Burnett to introduce a bill for the prevention of _slavery in
Oregon_, without giving previous notice; which was received and read
first time. It was read a second time next day in the forenoon, and in
the afternoon of the same day the bill to prevent slavery in Oregon,
_and for other purposes_, was read a third time, and on the question,
"Shall the bill pass?" the yeas and nays were demanded, when the vote
stood: yeas, Burnett, Gilmore, Keizer, Waldo, Newell, and Mr. Speaker
McCarver--6; nays, Lovejoy and Hill--2.
The principal provisions of this bill were, that in case a colored man
was brought to the country by any master of a vessel, he must give bonds
to take him away again or be fined, and in case the negro was found, or
came here from any quarter, the sheriff was to catch him and flog him
forty lashes at a time, till he left the country.
These six Solons, who got up and carried through this measure, did it
for the good of the black man of course, as one of the first principles
laid down by the people the year previous in the organic law, and
unanimously carried, was: "That slavery, except for the punishment of
crime, whereof the parties shall have been previously convicted, shall
never be tolerated."
The principles of Burnett's bill made it a crime for a white man to
bring a negro to the country, and a crime for a negro to come
voluntarily; so that, in any case, if he were found in the country, he
was guilty of a crime, and punishment or slavery was his doom.
Mr. Burnett claimed great credit for getting up a prohibitory liquor
law, and made several speeches in favor of sustaining it, that being a
popular measure among a majority of the citizens.
At the adjourned session in December, we find the executive urging the
Legislative Committee to adopt measures to secure the permanent
interests and prosperity of the country, also to amend their act
relative to the corporal punishment of the blacks, and again urging the
calling of a convention of the people.
CHAPTER XLIX.
Message of the Executive Committee.--Observations on the
message.--Generosity of the Hudson's Bay Company.--The Methodist
Mission.--The Oregon Printing-press Association.--George Abernethy,
Esq.
_To the Honorable the Legislative Committee of Oregon:_
GENTLEMEN,--As the expectation of receiving some information from the
United States relative to the adjustment of the claims of that
government and of Great Britain upon this country, was the principal
cause of the adjournment of this assembly from June last to this day, we
feel it our duty to communicate such information as we have been able to
collect on the subject, and likewise to recommend the adoption of
further measures for the promotion and security of the interests of
Oregon.
The lines defining the limits of the separate claims of the United
States and Great Britain to this portion of the country had not been
agreed upon when our latest advices left the United States, and as far
as we can learn, the question now stands in the same position as before
the convention in London, in 1818. At that time, the United States
government proposed to draw the division line on the forty-ninth
parallel of north latitude from the Lake of the Woods to the Pacific
Ocean. To this Great Britain would only consent in part, that the line
should run on the forty-ninth parallel from the Lake of the Woods to the
dividing ridge of the Rocky Mountains; and it was finally agreed upon,
between the parties, that all the country lying west of the Rocky
Mountains, and on the Pacific Ocean, should, with its harbors, bays, and
rivers, remain open for ten years to the vessels, subjects, or citizens
of both countries. But it was at the same time expressly understood,
that the said agreement was not to be construed to affect or prejudice
the claims of either party, or any other power, to any portion of said
country. Before this agreement expired, another convention was held in
London, in 1827, by the two contracting powers, by which the former
treaty was extended, with the provision, that when either of the parties
thought fit, after the 20th of October, 1828, to abrogate the
convention, they were at liberty to do so, by giving twelve months'
notice to the other contracting party; but nothing in the treaty of 1827
was to be construed so as to affect, in any manner, the claims which
either of the contracting parties, or any other power, might have to any
of the country lying west of the Rocky Mountains.
The subject has again been called up for investigation by the two
powers, and a negotiation was begun at Washington in the early part of
the present year, but was for the time being suspended on account of a
disagreement between the parties; and notice of the abrogation of the
convention of 1827 had not been given by either party when our latest
information left the United States. And we find that after all the
negotiations that have been carried on between the United States and
Great Britain relative to settling their claims to this country, from
October, 1818, up to May, 1844, a period of nearly twenty-six years, the
question remains in the following unsettled position, viz.:--
Neither of the parties in question claim exclusive right to the country
lying west of the Rocky Mountains, between the parallels of forty-two
degrees and fifty-four degrees forty minutes north latitude, and
bordering on the Pacific Ocean; but one claims as much right as the
other, and both claim the right of joint occupancy of the whole without
prejudice to the claims of any other state or power to any part of said
country.
We have submitted to you this information, gentlemen of the Assembly,
for two reasons:--
1st. To correct an error that occurred in our last communication to this
body relative to the claims of the United States and Great Britain to
this country.
2d. That you may bear in mind, while legislating for the people of
Oregon, the position in which this country stands with regard to those
claims.
We would advise that provision be made by this body for the framing and
adoption of a constitution for Oregon, previous to the next annual
election, which may serve as a more thorough guide to her officers, and
a more firm basis of her laws. It should be constructed in such a manner
as would best suit the local situation of the country, and promote the
general interests of the citizens, without interfering with the real or
pretended rights of the United States or Great Britain, except when the
protection of life and property actually require it.
We would suggest for your information that this government has now in
its possession notes given by different individuals residing in the
country, amounting to $3,734.26, most of which are already due. These
notes are a balance in favor of Ewing Young, of Oregon, deceased,
intestate, A.D. 1840, after all legal dues, debts, and damages are
paid, that have come to the knowledge of the administrator or Probate
Courts of Oregon up to this date. We would, therefore, advise that
these claims should be collected and appropriated to the benefit of the
country, the government being at all times responsible for the payment
of them to those who may hereafter appear to have a legal right to the
same.
We would again call your attention to a measure recommended in our last
communication, to wit, the expediency of making provision for the
erection of a public jail in this country. Although the community has
suffered very little as yet for the want of such a building, and perhaps
another year might pass without its being occupied, which it is hoped
may be the case, yet we are assured that it is better policy to have the
building standing without a tenant than a tenant without the building.
And in order to promote industry and the peace and welfare of the
citizens of Oregon, this government must be prepared to discountenance
indolence, and check vice in the bud.
We would now recommend to your consideration the propriety of making
provision for filling public offices which now are or may become vacant
by resignation or otherwise, previous to the next annual election.
We would recommend that the act passed by this assembly in June last,
relative to blacks and mulattoes, be so amended as to exclude corporal
punishment, and require bonds for good behavior in its stead.
We consider it a highly important subject that the executive of this
government should have laws which may direct them in settling matters
relative to lands reserved by Indians, which have been, or may hereafter
be, settled upon by whites.
We would also recommend that provisions be made for the support of
lunatics and insane persons in Oregon.
With regard to the state of the treasury, we would refer you to the
treasurer's report to this Assembly.
We are informed that the number of immigrants who have come to this
country from the United States during the present year amounts to upward
of seven hundred and fifty persons.
We would recommend that the act passed last June, defining the northern
boundaries of Tualatin and Clatsop counties, be so explained as not to
conflict with the act passed in this Assembly in June, 1843, extending
the limits of Oregon to fifty-four degrees forty minutes north latitude.
And we would suggest, in conclusion, that to preserve the peace, good
order, and kind feeling, which have hitherto existed among the
inhabitants of this country, depends very much upon the calm and
deliberate judgment of this Assembly, and we sincerely hope that Oregon,
by the special aid of Divine Providence may set an unprecedented example
to the world of industry, morality, and virtue.
And although we may now be unknown as a state or power, yet we have the
advantages, by the united efforts of our increasing population, in a
diligent attention to agriculture, arts, and literature, of attaining,
at no distant day, to as conspicuous an elevation as any State or power
on the continent of America.
But in order to carry this important measure, and arise to that
distinguished station, it becomes the duty of every citizen of this
country to take a deep interest in its present and future welfare.
As descendants of the United States and Great Britain, we should honor
and respect the countries which gave us birth; and, as citizens of
Oregon, we should, by a uniform course of proceeding, and a strict
observance of the rules of justice, equity, and republican principles,
without party distinction, use our best endeavors to cultivate the kind
feeling, not only of our native countries, but of all the powers or
states with whom we may have intercourse.
Signed,
OSBORNE RUSSELL,
P. G. STEWART.
Executive Committee of Oregon.
Dated, WALLAMET FALLS, Dec. 16, 1844.
To the honor of the country, Peter H. Burnett's negro-whipping law was
never enforced in a single instance, against a white or black man, as no
officer of the provisional government felt it incumbent upon himself to
attempt to enforce it.
The proposed constitutional revision was also strongly recommended by
the Executive Committee, and the Legislative Committee went through the
farce of calling a convention, and increased the number of
representatives, and called it a Legislature. In fact, the whole
proceedings seemed only to mix up and confuse the people; so much so,
that some doubted the existence of any legal authority in the country,
and the leading men of the immigration of 1843 denounced the
organization as a missionary arrangement to secure the most valuable
farming lands in the country.
The Hudson's Bay Company, under the guidance of James Douglas and P. S.
Ogden, carried forward their plans and arrangements by placing men at
their posts along the line of the immigrant route, who were doing all
they could, by misrepresentation and falsehood, to deceive and rob those
who were journeying to this country.
But, says the sycophant, the early settlers of Oregon are greatly
indebted to the Hudson's Bay Company for supplies of goods and
provisions sent to aid the starving immigrants. General Palmer tells us
(page 42) that flour at Fort Hall, when he came along, was twenty
dollars per one hundred pounds; cattle were from five to twelve dollars
per head. They could not be prevailed upon to receive any thing in
exchange for their goods or provisions, except cattle or money.
Two to four cows, or two yoke of oxen for a hundred pounds of flour is
_great generosity_, and renders the man who gives his last cow or ox to
the company, under great obligations; as much so as the early settlers
and the company's servants were in taking care of their cattle for the
little milk they could get from them, the company claiming the cow and
increase, and pay for any animal lost. This was Hudson's Bay Company's
generosity to the early settlers!
They found that through the influence of Burnett, Newell, Pomeroy, and a
few other Americans, they could accomplish more than by direct
opposition, and therefore began to change their course, and manifest
approval of the provisional government; so much so, that Ermatinger, a
member of the company, was elected treasurer in 1845, in opposition to
P. Foster, who served in 1844.
During the summer of 1844, Rev. George Geary arrived in the country,
"clothed with discretionary power," and had the destiny of missionaries,
laymen, property, and all, put into his hands. He superseded Mr. Lee.
Mr. Hines returned from the Sandwich Islands, and they proceeded at once
to dispose of the missionaries and property of the Methodist Mission.
The stations at Clatsop, Nasqualla, and the Dalles were given up. That
at the Dalles was sold to the American Board, that on Clatsop to Rev. J.
L. Parish, while the station at Nasqualla was abandoned by Rev. J. P.
Richmond, who, with Rev. Messrs. Kone and Frost, had become dissatisfied
with their Indian missionary labors, and returned to the States. Rev.
Messrs. D. Lee and H. K. W. Perkins, Dr. Babcock, and Mr. Brewer had all
made up their minds to leave the country.
These missionaries, having enlisted in a cause surrounded, at the time
of their engagements, with all the romance of early missionary life in
the far west, as soon as they reached their field of labor, had found
that romance and real life among the Indians did not accord with the
feelings of their proud and supremely selfish hearts. They were not
satisfied with silently withdrawing from the country, and encouraging
others more capable and better adapted to the missionary work to come to
it; but they joined with Dr. White, a bitter enemy of Rev. J. Lee, and
succeeded in obtaining the latter gentleman's removal from the
superintendency, and, through Rev. Messrs. Geary and Hines, the
abandonment of their Indian mission.
As an outside eye-witness of these transactions, we will state frankly
our impressions as to the general closing up of the Methodist
missionary labors among the Indians. The special and general
watchfulness of the Hudson's Bay Company, and their influence over the
leading members of the mission, and the effort they made to counteract
the moral and civil improvement of the Indians, was brought to bear both
directly and indirectly upon the superior and subordinate members, the
same as it had been upon the members of the missions of the American
Board, and caused a division in sentiment as to the usefulness and
results of missionary labor, and thus crippled their efforts, and caused
many of them to join with Dr. White, and complain of Superintendent Lee,
as an excuse to abandon the missionary work.
While these influences were working their intended results upon all the
American missionaries, the Jesuits, having explored the country, under
the patronage and by the assistance of the Hudson's Bay Company, were
making extensive preparations to occupy it with their missionaries, who
were then being collected, and sent from Belgium and Canada to Oregon,
under the direction of that arch-Jesuit, P. J. De Smet, and Bishop
Blanchet.
By the time they arrived, the Methodist Indian missions were all
disposed of; thus enabling the Jesuits to fix their undivided attention
and combine their united influence against the missions of the American
Board, which all admitted were accomplishing a noble work among the
tribes of their charge.
As Mr. Fitzgerald says: "But the company not only get rid of
missionaries as soon as they can do so without dangerous unpopularity,
but they obstruct them in the performance of their duties while in the
country." (See page 189 of his work.)
This opposition to the missionaries was not caused by the Indians, but
the personal opposition of the company, as proved by Sir J. Pelly's
answer to the question, "Have you found a disposition on the part of the
natives to receive moral and religious instruction." "Very great. There
were a couple of young lads sent from the Columbia District, to whom the
names of Pelly and Garry were given; these lads were revered by the
natives, when they returned, for the religious instructions they were
enabled to give." (See page 195, of the work above quoted.)
One Congregational and five Methodist ministers have left the country
with their families. Five Jesuit priests and as many nuns are coming to
it. Eight hundred emigrants are plodding their way over the mountains
and plains with ox-teams, to find a home in this country. The sub-Indian
agent has worked himself quiet. The Indians are waiting orders, watching
the immigration, and getting ready to strike at the proper time.
Mr. Lease had brought a band of five hundred head of California cattle
to the country and disposed of most of them to the Hudson's Bay Company.
The Oregon Printing-Press Association was formed, and about eighty
shares, at $10 each, were subscribed, and the money sent to New York for
press, type, and paper, by George Abernethy, Esq., who, after the
provisional organization in 1843, became a valuable supporter of all the
best interests of the country. His integrity of character, consistent
piety, and unbounded generosity, but few will question. From his
position, and connection with the Methodist Mission, he has suffered
much pecuniary loss, from men who were ever ready to take undue
advantage of a confiding and generous disposition.
As a public officer he always held a negative position, the tendency of
which was to hold all in suspense, and wait for some future action, or
to be carried forward by events that might occur. He could not be called
a leader in any civil, religious, or political measure, yet he truly
represented, in his public capacity, the organization of which he was a
member. So far as he was capable, he held in abeyance all laws and
measures, to what he considered would be the policy of the United States
government at some future time. The natural result of this position was,
to accomplish nothing definitely. Hence we find in all his public acts,
this tender spirit, and want of decided action.
Mr. Hines started for the United States by way of China. The property of
the Methodist Mission was distributed, and the settlers had increased;
while the Hudson's Bay Company were busily preparing to defend their
assumed rights by arming their forts and Indians in a manner so as not
to excite suspicion, or alarm the American settlements.
CHAPTER L.
Dr. White's report.--Seizure and destruction of a
distillery.--Homicide of Joel Turnham.--State of the
Territory.--Trials of Dr. White.--The liquor law.--Revenue
act.--Case of the negro Saul.--The Indians kill an ox.--Other
Indian difficulties.--Indian expedition to California.--Death of
the Indian Elijah.--State of the Territory.--Claim of the Hudson's
Bay Company on the north bank of the Columbia.--Letter of Peter H.
Burnett.--The Nez Percés and Cayuses.--Extract from the report of
the United States Senate.
We give the following extracts from Dr. White's Indian report and
proceedings in Oregon, that the reader may be informed as to what he
claimed to be his influence, and also the way he maneuvered with the
Indians and settlers; with his full account of the killing of the young
Indian Elijah in California.
The letters from the different missionaries show the condition of the
American missions at the time. Mr. Lee and the Jesuit missionaries did
not deem him the proper agent to report to. Notwithstanding, in his
report, given in a previous chapter, he attributes to the Jesuit
missionaries improvements wholly made by the Americans, not from
ignorance of the fact, but from personal prejudice.
It will be seen that the committee in Congress, to whom his report and
petition was referred, deemed it equitable and just on general
principles, and allowed it.
WALLAMET, November 4, 1844.
SIR,--The Hudson's Bay ship _Columbia_ sailing in a few days, _via_
Sandwich Islands, for England, by the politeness of her owners I
have the honor of again addressing you, and certainly under
circumstances most favorable and gratifying.
Since my last, forwarded in March, aside from two or three
incidents of an unpleasant nature, the colony and country have been
in a state of unusual quietness, and the season has been one of
great prosperity.
The legislative body, composed of nine members, met on the 24th of
May, at the falls at Wallamet, and closed their short but effective
session in nine days; having passed, in due form, twenty-five
bills, most of which were of importance to us in the regulation of
our intercourse. A few of these laws I transmit to you, and would
here remark, the taxes were in general cheerfully paid. The liquor
bill is popular, and the laws of Oregon are honored.
The Liquor act not coming in force under sixty days from its
passage, a few individuals (having clandestinely prepared, before
its passage) improved this favored moment to dispose of all they
could with any hopes of safety. Of this I was immediately notified,
and hastened in from the Tualatin Plains, all the mischief, "as
heretofore," being done in and about the town at the falls of the
Wallamet.
Liquor was in our midst, as was but too manifest from the noisy,
vulgar, obscene, and even diabolical expressions of those who had
previously ever conducted themselves in a quiet and orderly manner.
This was perplexing and exciting, as all professed ignorance; and
many opinions prevailed regarding the amount manufactured, and the
number interested, and especially regarding the seat of mischief or
point where distilled.
I resolved, at whatever danger or cost, to nip this in the bud,
procured the call of a public meeting at once, and had the
happiness to receive the following expression from all but one
convened:--
"_Resolved_, That it be the sense of this meeting, that Dr. White,
in his official relation, take such assistance as he may require,
and forthwith search out and destroy all intoxicating liquor that
may be found in this vicinity or district of country.
"P. G. STEWART.
"Executive Chairman.
"JOHN E. LONG,
"Secretary."
I started with ten volunteers early the ensuing morning, and found the
distillery in a deep, dense thicket, eleven miles from town, at three
o'clock, P.M. The boiler was a large-size potash kettle, and all the
apparatus well accorded. Two hogsheads and eight barrels of slush or
beer were standing ready for distillation, with a part of one barrel of
molasses. No liquor could be found, nor as yet had much been distilled.
Having resolved on my course, I left no time for reflection, but at once
upset the nearest cask, when the noble volunteers immediately seconded
my measures, making a river of beer in a moment; nor did we stop till
the kettle was raised, and elevated in triumph at the prow of our boat,
and every cask, with all the distilling apparatus, was broken to pieces
and utterly destroyed. We then returned, in high cheer, to the town,
where our presence and report gave general joy.
Two hours after my arrival, I received from James Connor, one of the
owners, a written challenge for a bloody combat; which ended last week
in his being indicted before the grand jury, fined $500, and
disfranchised for life.
Six weeks since, an unhappy affray occurred between one Joel Turnham,
late from Missouri, and Webley Hauxhurst, of Wallamet, and serious
threats passing from the former, a warrant was issued, and Turnham,
resisting with a deadly weapon, was shot down by the officer; for which
he comes before the grand jury to-morrow. Turnham expired at once, being
shot with three mortal wounds through the neck and head, but with
singular desperation fought and resisted to the last.
So far as I understand the public expression, all unite in acquitting
the officer, who has ever been a harmless, quiet, good citizen; while
Turnham was regarded as a most desperate and dangerous character all
abroad, having left Missouri under circumstances most unfavorable to his
reputation and quiet here, where he has been particularly sour,
irritable, and quarrelsome; and was the more obnoxious as he was reputed
brave and generally too stout for his antagonist.
November 8.--Since penning the last, the grand jury have unanimously
declared no bill; and here allow me to say, having accompanied Judge
Babcock to four of the courts embraced in the circuit of five counties,
I have not seen in any country such uniform decorum and quietness as has
prevailed throughout at these courts. Much of this mildness, sobriety,
and good order, is doubtless attributable to the absence of all
intoxicating drinks.
The laws of this country, framed to meet present circumstances, are
taking deeper and stronger root continually. And some are already
suggesting, "notwithstanding our infancy," whether, if longer left
without a mother's protection, it will not be well to undertake to run
alone.
The resources of the country are rapidly developing, and the
expectations of the people are generally high; the mildness of the
climate and the strength of the soil greatly encourage the large
immigration of last year. For the last twelve months, mercury has ranged
from 96 to 30; four-fifths of the time from 80 to 55; making an
agreeable summer and mild winter, grazing being good throughout; so much
so that the jaded and worn-down animals of the poor immigrants fatted up
greatly to their surprise, before spring, without feeding or the least
attention.
Crops of all kinds usually good, even to Indian corn, and cheerfulness
prevails throughout since harvesting. As statements have been made in
the States derogatory to our soil, allow me to say, it is believed, with
the same cultivation, no country produces better wheat, oats, peas,
barley, potatoes, or any crop save Indian corn, for which the nights are
generally too cool for a heavy growth. The wheat crops, being never
injured by the frosts of winter or the rains of summer, as in the
States, are remarkably sure; nor as yet have our crops been disturbed by
flies or insects.
Wheat crops are heavy, as you will judge when I assure you, from simply
turning over the prairie in June, scattering the seed in October, and
then with no further trouble than passing the harrow over it, ten acres
upon my plantation grew five hundred and forty-one bushels and a half.
The river flats, containing much alluvial deposit, are very rich; the
plains beautiful and verdant, being admirably watered, but generally
sparsely timbered; the high lands well timbered and watered in many
parts, the soil tolerable, producing herbage for an abundance of deer,
elk, mountain sheep, etc. The entire Wallamet and Umpqua valleys,
capable of sustaining a population of several millions, it is generally
believed can not be excelled, as a whole, for richness of soil, variety,
grandeur, or beauty of scenery; nor, considering the latitude, can be
equaled in mildness, equability, and agreeableness of climate.
Since last writing, abundance of limestone has been found at the mouth
of the Columbia, and likewise in this valley, conveniently obtained, and
proves of an excellent quality. The Rev. Mr. De Smet arrived here in
August last, bringing, as a part of his cargo, six priests and as many
nuns, fine, hale-looking girls, very acceptable just now, particularly
as the Methodist Mission is breaking up, and the half-breed Canadian
daughters are rapidly multiplying.
Having no pilot or chart to depend upon, and his commander a stranger,
he sailed in through the south channel, greatly to the surprise and
alarm of all on shore, but without injury or difficulty, not once
touching, and reporting abundance of water for the heaviest burden
ships.
The sands are supposed to have changed and improved the channel; but of
this I know nothing, and am not a little skeptical. I am induced to
attribute their success more to the fine day and small vessel than
change of the sands in their favor since Captain Wilkes left. Captain
Couch, however, who has now been passing in and out here for the last
five years in the service of Mr. Cushing, of Newburyport, pronounces it
a better port to enter than theirs, and says, with pilots, there will be
little difficulty or danger.
Our exports are wheat, beaver, salmon, and lumber, for which, in return,
we obtain from the Sandwich Islands, sugar, molasses, tea, coffee, and
other commodities brought there from China, England, and America.
We are much in want of a currency and market, American merchants being
as yet a slender reliance; and in view of the large immigrating parties
of each year, we should be greatly distressed for necessary articles of
wearing apparel, but for the most commendable spirit of accommodation on
the part of the Hudson's Bay Company.
Could some arrangement be entered into for us to supply the navy of the
Pacific with bread, beef, pork, fish, etc., we would thereby be much
improved in our condition. This might, and perhaps ought to be done, in
view of the encouragements held out for our people to emigrate to this
country. Should it not be convenient for our ships of war to come to the
Columbia for such supplies, they could be shipped to the Sandwich
Islands, if required. But more of this another time.
Having just taken the tour of the colony for the purpose of attending
the courts and visiting the schools, it affords me pleasure to say I
felt amply rewarded. I found throughout health, cheerfulness, and
prosperity, and, certainly, most surprising improvements for the short
time since the settlers commenced. The decorum of the courts I have
spoken of, and now have only to speak of the schools and Indians, and I
am done, fearing I have already wearied your patience. For the want of
means, the Methodist manual labor Indian school has lately been broken
up, and this is now occupied as a boarding-school for white children of
both sexes. The school is yet small, but well conducted, and promises
usefulness to the colony. The school at the falls of the Wallamet and
Tualatin Plains, and likewise the one under the direction of Rev. Mr.
Blanchet, Catholic clergyman, are all small,--numbering from fifteen to
thirty only,--but are all well kept and doing good. I feel solicitous on
this subject, and am saying and doing what I can to encourage education,
but, like all other new countries, the people need and require their
children much at home.
Since the unhappy affair last spring, the Indians have been unusually
quiet, and the summer has been spent without alarm. I sent my
interpreter, Mr. Lee, to the Wallawallas six weeks since, to make some
presents to the chiefs, as a safe conduct to the immigrants down to this
place, but having, as yet, nothing from him of interest, I addressed a
line to Mr. J. B. Littlejohn, who is just down from there, and received
the annexed reply; all other statements are corroborative:--
"WALLAMET, November 1, 1844.
"DEAR SIR,--It is with the utmost pleasure I undertake to give you
what information I am able to do. I have resided with the
missionaries of the American Board for two years past; I have known
their hearts, and am well acquainted with all they have done. Their
influence among the Indians is by no means small, or their efforts
vain, as their condition is very much improved, both in a spiritual
and temporal point of view. And, dear sir, your efforts among and
for them have been much to their advantage, and at the same time
not to the disadvantage of the missionaries, but greatly to
increase their usefulness among them. I have no doubt you have
labored with this motive in view. The Indians are becoming
civilized as fast or faster than any tribes concerning whom I am
informed. Their anxiety for cattle, hogs, and sheep is very great;
leading them to make most commendable efforts to obtain them, and
their efforts are by no means vain. They have purchased a good
number from those who are emigrating to this country, by exchanging
their horses for cattle. Thus, while their horses have been very
useful to the immigrants, they have greatly benefited themselves.
They are enlarging their farms yearly,--improving much in fencing,
etc. Quite a number of families are enabled to live from what they
raise on their farms, the milk of their cows, and their beef. There
is perfect quietness existing between them, and I have no doubt
this state of things will continue to exist. Many things that are
interesting might be written, but time does not allow me to say
more at present.
"I am, dear sir, yours with the greatest respect,
"J. B. LITTLEJOHN."
Thus far the Indians have kept their treaties of amity with me
astonishingly well, and it is thought we have now as much to hope as
fear from them, if we succeed in keeping out liquor, which, by the grace
of God, not few of us are resolved to do, though we do not pass
unopposed, nor slightly opposed; and had it not been for that most
salutary liquor law, and the hearty co-operation of some of the friends
of temperance with your agent, liquor would have already made ruinous
havoc among us.
The Methodist Mission, though we have not agreed on all subjects, has
behaved very properly on this. And to it, in connection with the
Honorable Hudson's Bay Company, will the colony be lastingly indebted
for its commendable efforts.
Since my first arrival, I have not received a line from the department
save my last year's report. As my condition is peculiar, and not a
little embarrassing, I should feel greatly obliged for an expression and
further instruction from the department. I have had, as may well be
judged, much to contend with, in the midst of lawless Indians of so many
different tribes, and lawless whites of so many nations,--some bred upon
old whale-ships, others in the Rocky Mountains, and hundreds on the
frontiers of Missouri. I have at times waded in deep perplexing
difficulties, but am now greatly relieved by the colonial government,
which as yet is well administered. By reason of this I now have less to
do, and sail in smoother seas, meeting with less opposition than
heretofore, my proper official relations toward the whites and Indians
being better understood.
I have the honor to be, etc.,
E. WHITE,
Sub-Agent Indian Affairs, W. R. M.
Hon. J. M. PORTER,
Secretary of War, Washington.
_An Act to prohibit the Manufacture and Sale of Ardent Spirits._
_Whereas_ the people of Oregon, now occupying one of the most beautiful
and interesting portions of the globe, are placed in the most critical
and responsible position ever filled by men, owing, as they do,
important duties to themselves, to their country, to posterity, and to
mankind, as the founders of a new government and a young nation; and
whereas the introduction, distillation, or sale of ardent spirits, under
the circumstances in which we are placed, would bring withering ruin
upon the prosperity and prospects of this interesting and rising
community, by involving us in idle and dissolute habits, inviting hither
swarms of the dissipated inhabitants of other countries, checking
immigration, destroying the industry of the country, bringing upon us
the swarms of savages now in our midst, interrupting the orderly and
peaceable administration of justice, and, in a word, producing and
perpetuating increasing and untold miseries that no mind can rightly
estimate; therefore,
_Be it enacted by the Legislative Committee of Oregon as follows:--_
SECTION 1. That if any person shall hereafter import or introduce any
ardent spirits into Oregon, with intent to sell, barter, or trade the
same, and shall offer the same for sale, barter, or trade, he shall be
fined the sum of fifty dollars for each and every such offense, which
may be recovered by indictment or by trial before a justice of the
peace, without the form of pleading.
SEC. 2. That if any person shall hereafter sell, barter, or trade any
ardent spirits of any kind whatever, directly or indirectly, to any
person within Oregon, he shall forfeit and pay the sum of twenty dollars
for each and every such sale, barter, or trade, to be recovered by
indictment in the Circuit Court, or before a justice of the peace,
without the form of pleading.
SEC. 3. That if any person shall hereafter establish or carry on any
manufactory or distillery of ardent spirits in Oregon, he shall be
subject to be indicted before the Circuit Court as for a nuisance; and
if convicted, he shall be fined the sum of one hundred dollars, and the
court shall issue an order to the sheriff, directing him to seize and
destroy the distilling apparatus, which order the sheriff shall execute.
SEC. 4. That it shall be the duty of all sheriffs, judges, justices,
constables, and other officers, when they have reason to believe that
this act has been violated, to give notice thereof to some justice of
the peace or judge of a court, who shall immediately issue his warrant
and cause the offending party to be arrested, and, if such officer has
jurisdiction to try such case, shall proceed to try such offender
without delay, and give judgment accordingly; but, if such officer shall
not have jurisdiction to try the case, he shall, if the party be guilty,
bind him over to appear before the next Circuit Court of the proper
county.
SEC. 5. That all sales, barters, or trades, made under color of gifts or
otherwise, with intent to evade this act, shall be deemed a violation of
the same, and all fines and penalties recovered under this act shall go
into the general treasury, and all officers receiving the same shall pay
over to the sheriff, whose duty it shall be to pay the same into the
treasury.
SEC. 6. That this act shall not be so construed as to prevent any
practicing physician from selling such liquors for medicine, not to
exceed one gallon at one time.
SEC. 7. That the clerk shall make out a copy of this act and put the
same up in Oregon City as early as practicable.
SEC. 8. That this act shall take effect within sixty days from and after
its passage.
Passed 24th June, 1844. M. M. MCCARVER, Speaker.
Attest: J. E. LONG, Clerk.
_An Act to provide for Ways and Means._
_Be it enacted by the Legislative Committee of Oregon as follows:--_
SECTION 1. That in order to raise a revenue for the purpose of defraying
the expenses of the government, there shall be levied and collected a
tax of one-eighth of one per cent. upon the following property, at a
fair valuation, to wit: All merchandise brought into this country for
sale; improvements in town lots; mills; pleasure-carriages; clocks;
watches; horses; mules; cattle and hogs.
SEC. 2. Every male citizen over the age of twenty-one years, being a
descendant of a white man, shall be subject to pay a poll-tax of fifty
cents.
SEC. 3. That it shall be the duty of the collector of revenue to require
of each and every merchant of Oregon to give him a statement of the
amount of all merchandise on hand, in writing, to be stated upon oath or
affirmation, which oath or affirmation the collector shall administer;
and said collector shall collect and receipt for the tax upon such
merchandise, which receipt shall serve said merchant for a license for
the next year, commencing from the time given; and that, when a merchant
shall wish to renew his license, he shall give a similar statement of
all merchandise received by him for sale in the preceding twelve months,
and the collector shall only require him to pay tax upon the amount of
said imports.
SEC. 4. That any person refusing to pay tax, as in this act required,
shall have no benefit of the laws of Oregon, and shall be disqualified
from voting at any election in this country.
SEC. 5. That the sheriff shall serve as _ex officio_ collector of the
revenue, for which he shall receive, as a compensation for his services,
ten per cent. upon all moneys collected as revenue.
SEC. 6. That the sheriff, before entering upon the duties of his office
as collector of the revenue, shall enter into bond, with two or more
good and sufficient securities, in a sum not less than five nor more
than ten thousand dollars, to be approved by the executive, which
approval shall be written upon the back of said bond, and the said
collector's bond shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the court.
SEC. 7. That the collector shall pay over to the treasury, on the first
Monday in each and every month in the year, all moneys that may be in
his hands, and get the treasurer's receipt therefor.
SEC. 8. That it shall be the duty of the tribunal transacting county
business to require the collector to settle with said court at each and
every regular term of the court in Clackamas County.
SEC. 9. The collector of the revenue shall make full payment into the
treasury on or before the first Monday in December in each year.
SEC. 10. The revenue of Oregon shall be collected in specie or available
orders on solvent merchants in Oregon.
SEC. 11. That all acts and parts of acts contrary to this act be, and
the same are hereby, repealed.
SEC. 12. This act to take effect from and after its passage.
M. M. MCCARVER, Speaker.
Attest: J. E. LONG, Secretary.
_Oregon Territory, Tualatin District, United States of America, May 1,
1844._
Charles E. Pickett, plaintiff, in the name of Oregon Territory,
threatening to incense the Indians, _against_ Saul, a man of color.
Complainant's oath and warrant issued, directed to J. L. Meek, sheriff,
and summons for three witnesses, viz.: James Conner, William Hill, and
Mr. Bird.
May 3.--Sheriff made his return with defendant and witnesses, and jury
of good and lawful men, viz., Philip Foster, W. C. Dement, J. W.
Nesmith, John McCaddan, C. Spencer, and S. W. Moss, being duly sworn,
returned a verdict of guilty of the charges alleged to him, and signed
their names, viz.: Philip Foster, J. W. Nesmith, William C. Dement, John
McCaddan, Chauncey Spencer, and S. W. Moss.
Two witnesses, viz., William Hill and Mr. Bird, of lawful age, being
duly sworn, did depose and say: that the threats in the deposition of
Charles E. Pickett were correct; and that the Indians had come in a
menacing manner; and that Saul said he would stand for the Indians'
rights; and that he (Saul) was armed and prepared to do so; and that the
Indians would burn and destroy his house and property. The charges being
of a higher character than the Oregon laws have cognizance of, judgment
is, that the United States sub-Indian agent, Dr. Elijah White, is the
proper officer to take cognizance of him; and he, Saul, a man of color,
be forthwith delivered into said agent's hand; which was forthwith done.
ROBERT MOORE, Justice of the Peace.
The criminal was received and kept in custody for some weeks; but having
no prison-house or jail to lodge him in, and the captain absolutely
declining taking him on board his vessel, after the storm had blown over
I suffered and encouraged him to leave this place, and stop with one of
the mission families for the present, at the mouth of the Columbia.
Though unsuccessful in getting employment as I had hoped, he remains in
that vicinity with his Indian wife and family, conducting, as yet, in a
quiet manner, but doubtless ought to be transported, together with every
other negro, being in our condition dangerous subjects.
Until we have some further means of protection, their immigration ought
to be prohibited. Can this be done?
E. WHITE, Sub-Agent.
TERRITORY OF OREGON,}
} _ss._
DISTRICT OF TUALATIN.}
Charles E. Pickett, being duly sworn, says, that Saul (a man of color),
of said Territory, has threatened to incense the Indians against his
person and property, to destroy the same; and that he, the said Charles
E. Pickett, verily believes that, unless measures are taken to prevent
him, there are sufficient grounds to apprehend that he will carry those
threats into execution.
Sworn to and subscribed this 1st day of May, 1844, before me,
ROBERT MOORE, J. P.
We, the jury, find the prisoner guilty of the charges alleged against
him.
PHILIP FOSTER,
J. W. NESMITH,
WM. C. DEMENT,
JOHN MCCADDAN,
CHAUNCEY SPENCER,
S. W. MOSS.
* * * * *
OREGON, WALLAMET VALLEY,}
April 4, 1845.}
----Starting too late, and the winter rains setting in earlier than
usual, subjected the immigrants to incredible suffering and hardships,
especially from the Dalles of the Columbia down to the Wallamet Valley;
but our early and delightful spring is exerting a cheering and most
salutary influence upon their hitherto depressed spirits. They have,
bee-like, been hived up in Oregon City during the winter, and are now
swarming, to the entire satisfaction of the first occupants of the hive,
it not being wide and large enough for such an unexpected increase. The
last immigration, numbering about a thousand, are generally pleased with
the country, and are setting about their spring work with becoming
spirit and fortitude.
The Indians of this lower country, whose national honor and dignity are
laid in the dust, are look